


The Fall Of Providence

by Maniac345



Category: Generator Rex
Genre: Angst, Biowulf - Freeform, Confusion, Dark, Diseased, Disturbing, Dramatic, Gen, Gen Rex, Heavy Angst, Holiday, Hurt, Mysterious, Mystery, OC, Rex - Freeform, Trauma, Truth Searching, Van Kleiss - Freeform, sick, torture the cinnamon roll
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 15:50:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 36,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16663723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maniac345/pseuds/Maniac345
Summary: When Providence is mysteriously reduced to mere ruins, one of Rex’s most powerful enemies decides that the vulnerable boy is up for grabs...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (I’ve wanted to get into this fanfic for a while but I’m scatter-brained. I’m a super unprofessional writer, so it might be cheesy and stuff. I own nothing in this series, and this is crossposted from Fanfiction.net. Thanks for the click!)

Fast food was every teenage boy's weakness.

Rex sighed happily as he unwrapped the burger, crossing his legs as he sat on the park bench. His order of fries lied next to him, their smells wafting into the air, making him all the more hungry. The burger was filled with extra meat for a growing boy- with an additional helping of cheese that never hurt anybody. Granted, at the age of seventeen, he wasn't sure if he would grow much taller anymore- but meat was his weakness anyway, so he dug right in.

Noah had long converted to vegetarianism a few months ago, but Rex didn't want to get dragged into that. He wasn't sure if he wanted to make such a huge commitment for life. 

The sky was cloudless, allowing him a clear view of the Providence Base. The crooked obelisk-like structure gleamed in the sunlight, providing a comforting sight to any citizen who could spot it. It seemed quite small from such a large distance- and from the top of a distant hill, no less- but Rex knew every nook and cranny of it. It was his home, and he enjoyed his family inside.

But as he placed his burger on his lap and reached for a fry, something strange happened. 

At first, Rex couldn't decide if it was a trick of the light. The Base seemed to glow for a quick moment, a bright flash of light engulfing nearly the entire building for a good few seconds. Then, just as soon as it had appeared, it vanished. Rex popped a fry into his mouth, chewed and swallowed it, then pressed his fingers to his earpiece.

"Hey, Doc?" he greeted the vivacious, motherly brunette. "Did Providence just...glow?"

Crackling entered the earpiece, then the desired woman's voice.

"Rex?" Holiday answered. "There was giant burst of light back at our end. I have no idea what's caused it. I'm- hold on."

Rex heard silence for the next few seconds, and then the voice came back online.

"Rex," the doctor's voice greeted him- but this time, it sounded much more concerned. "Come back to base. I believe someone accidentally disturbed one of the energy reactors on the third floor- possibly by contaminating its fuel source. If you could just-"

Rex waited for the rest of the sentence, but it never came.

The teen removed the food from his lap stood up, a soft breeze whipping through his jet black hair. His nose ring shined in the light- quite an esteemed birthday piercing, if anyone cared to ask him- and his bright orange jacket fluttered as he walked towards the edge of the hill. He tried to elicit another response from Holiday by pressing the earpiece repeatedly, but none came. 

Rex first felt the rumbling when he finally reached the top.

It was a low vibration, akin to the bass that he'd play from his favorite songs. The tremors continued up to his chest, but remained mild. The boy's mind went blank for a moment- he couldn't recall the last time he'd dealt with an earthquake- but he remained calm. He glanced towards the direction of the Base, and witnessed a sight he never thought he'd see in his entire life.

Providence was crumbling.

The structure was collapsing, noticeably starting from somewhere near the bottom- where the third floor Holiday specified most likely was. Little by little, chunks of metal and concrete fell, cascading into a white pile of rubble below. Some of the chunks smashed into other parts of the holdings, further dismantling the bottom of the base. Then, as the top part of the building lost its source of balance, it, too, began to fall. 

Rex didn't think twice. He activated his jet pack and flew straight towards it.

He screamed the name of everyone he knew inside the dismantling building, though knowing full well no one would hear. The teen had no idea what would happen; the only thing driving him towards the Base was sheer panic. His heart pumped rapidly as he flew closer and closer to his destination, but his mind knew there wasn't much he could do. His nanites couldn't just repair a building. If anyone had been crushed in the collapse, he didn't have the ability to reanimate lives. 

For once, he felt entirely useless.

His voice became sore as he screamed continuously, the pain in his throat eventually causing him to remain silent. His thoughts, however, were anything but. Images of Holiday, Six, Bobo, and even White Knight flashed through his mind as he dodged some of the chunks and sped up to the top of the structure. He pushed dark thoughts out of his mind as he then flew to the bottom- only to dodge even more falling debris.

Was anywhere safe?

"Six!" Rex painfully yelled, pressing his earpiece again. "Where are you? Where's everybody?"

No answer.

Rex flew around the perimeter, trying to keep calm- but failing. He heard high pitched screams from between chunks of falling rock, and to his horror, splashes of bright red began to manifest as the building crumbled further. At first, they were just a few spots of the alarming color here and there, but soon, they began to splatter across the building. It stood out brightly against the pristine white, creating the ghastly image of a bloody tampon in Rex's mind. 

And it only got worse.

Rex felt something hit his back as he flew around, and nearly veered off enough to smash into the Base. Whatever it was, it remained lodged between the arms of his jet pack and his back. The teen quickly pulled the object out, and his eyes widened at the sight of it- 

A severed arm, fingers still twitching.

"FUCK!" Rex cried out as he looked up, realizing there was more to come. Decapitated heads, bloody limbs, and bits and pieces of internal organs fell from the sky like rain, further staining the metal debris like pomegranate juice. The boy flung the arm against the floor fifty feet below, watching in horror as the collapse killed more and more soldiers.

Who knows where Holiday and Six were?

He had barely eaten lunch, faced the threat of his entire family dying without him knowing their location at all, and nearly vomited from the mangled remains. It was simply too much. His nanites recoiled from the emotional burden thrust upon them and began to fail. Rex, despite still being alive, became yet another body falling from the sky.

Forty feet. 

Thirty feet.

Twenty feet.

Frantically, the boy attempted to grasp onto the edges of the building- any part that still remained, that is- but failed. Anything he touched crumbled under his touch, like a destructive twist on the Midas curse, and his mind spun in fear, unable to think rationally. A large chunk of metal fell past him and nicked his shoulder, causing his fall to accelerate. Blood from his fingers trailed down his arms until he hit the ground, hard.

Onto a pile of EVOs.

Rex wheezed as his breath was knocked right out of him, and struggled to flip over. From what he could tell, he had landed on the corpses of the Petting Zoo captives. It was a soft enough land to keep him from dying, but it certainly hurt. He could barely feel his left arm, and his legs were splayed painfully in an awkward position. The sun shone bright in his eyes, as if taunting him. 

"Mel?" Rex whispered to the body beneath him, hoping the EVO he'd known the longest- besides Bobo, that was- wasn't crushed to death. "Are you...okay? I'm sorry, I just-I can't think right now."

Rex was surprised to find a small stream of blood flowing from his mouth as he spoke. Apparently, somewhere during the impact, he had bit his tongue hard enough to rupture the skin. He quickly regretted his meaningless words; every letter felt like a white-hot sting. If the fall was any harder, he might not even have had a tongue anymore.

A chatterbox's nightmare. 

Rex's body slid down Mel's smooth one, entirely against his will. The heat of the day made it feel like it was baking him from the inside out, and the wounds weren't getting any better. But he was superhuman, right? Nanites were there for a reason. He could get through this.

Now, all was silent.

Rex groaned as he attempted to prop himself up on right arm, seeing as the other one wasn't following commands anymore. He craned his neck to see the Base- or what was left of it- and suddenly found it hard to breathe. The tower was hardly visible anymore; it now looked like the remains of some ancient ruin. A high tech ruin, but nonetheless just as disheartening. It was like stepping into the middle of the desert and finding the leftovers of a lost civilization.

The screams were gone.

Rex took a moment to lean his body on Mel's corpse, deciding to rest for a little while. Little did he know, it was just enough for his weary nanites to take control. No sooner than ten seconds after he closed his eyes, the boy passed out like a light. 

He never heard the strange, whistling sound near the base of Providence.


	2. Wake Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dude wakes up

Rex woke up gradually, his dark brown eyes fluttering open. Though light entered his eyes, he couldn't yet comprehend what he was seeing; his vision was too blurry. Unable to see his surroundings clearly, the boy succumbed to his dreamlike state and with a muffled groan, he closed his eyes again.

Now completely blind to where it was, Rex's consciousness began forming wild ideas about his location. Thoughts crawled around in his head like scuttling cockroaches, offering him any bizarre solution that her muddled mind could muster. The teen wondered if he'd died and passed into some afterlife, as his last memory- he didn't know how long ago it was- brought up feelings of pain.

Pain, and panic.

Rex wondered if perhaps he'd gone to heaven- but if he did, why wasn't he enjoying it? Wasn't he supposed to? Then, he thought about the possibility of being in a coma. Rex had experienced comas as wild with constant dreams, but he wasn't seeing any dreams at all. He supposed he really was deceased after all. Would he see the people of the past? Of those even from centuries ago? Perhaps there was a time limit for that sort of thing.

A dull ache in Rex's muscles brought his thoughts back down to Earth, and he realized he wasn't, in fact, dead. He slightly shifted his legs to relieve himself of the vague pain, and in doing so, felt the cold, crisp sheets underneath himself for the first time. In fact, they felt almost like...paper. Rex's fingers dug into them, and the new feeling gave him enough incentive to open his eyes again. This time, his vision wasn't nearly as blurry.

Rex propped himself on his arm and slowly sat up, observing his much clearer surroundings. He noted that he was in some sort of hospital room- at least, it looked like one. The lights were dim, which was rather convenient for his gradually adjusting eyesight. The room the boy found himself in had only one exit- a large, black door to his right. He peered around at the walls, and saw that they were quite messy for a supposed hospital room. Numerous papers were tacked onto them, in all sizes and colors. 

Rex tried to read some of the papers, and though he couldn't make out the smaller details, he did realize they were newspapers. Some were about him, others on recent scientific breakthroughs, and a few were on illegal drug activities in random locations- at least, they seemed random. The rest of the papers were in different languages he couldn't even begin to understand.

Whatever.

Rex slowly slid off the bed and landed on the cold, hard floor. He shivered a bit from the sudden temperature change, but began to walk anyway. Meandering around the room, he found a few desks, drawers, a trash can, an extremely tall coat hanger, and a computer. The teen slid onto a swivel chair in front of the computer and took a quick look at the setup. It wasn't as high tech as the ones he knew, but it still looked heavy duty. Grateful for a chance to siphon information, Rex turned it on.

Password protected.

Rex smiled and pressed his bare fingertips onto the flat screen, waiting for all the knowledge the system could possibly contain to come flooding into him at once. It was silly for anyone who knew him to think a mere passcode could protect anything from him. Perhaps he was moved to a hospital sector of the Base that didn't quite know about his-

Wait.

Nothing was happening.

Rex blinked, then tried again. He pressed his fingers a little harder, hoping it would help- but the familiar feeling of his nanites working to drain technology failed to course through his gloveless hands. The boy them tried even harder, pressing his entire palm against the screen as well. He gritted his teeth, straining for any energy to pump through.

Nothing.

Rex leaned back for a moment and rubbed his neck, utterly confused. What kind of computer was this? Did someone install an  anti-nanite password? Was that even a thing? Whatever it was, it was quite a marvel. Not many people could manage to block his powers like this. Perhaps he'd ask Holiday-

Holiday. Six. Bobo. In a few seconds, all his memories rushed back at once.

This wasn't Providence.

Rex leaped out the seat and twisted his head wildly from side to side, wide awake now. He rushed towards the door, and tried to twist the knob. 

It didn't budge.

Rex scratched his head, wondering why on Earth someone had tried to hold him in with a simple, standard door. No high tech locks, no sliding metal, nothing. He smirked, his usual confidence returning. Whoever kidnapped him clearly didn't know about Rex's superhuman strength. The teen pulled his fist back, gathering as much energy as he could, and swung until his first rammed into the wood.

"OWWW!" Rex yelped, his fist stinging from the impact. The door, made only out of ordinary wood, remained intact. "What the hell?"

Rex took a few steps backwards to gain even more momentum to try again, balled his fist even harder, and-

"Should I let you bleed, or should I force you to desist?"

The boy nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden voice behind him. He whipped around to find what he previously thought to be a coat hanger talking to him from the wall across the room. It still looked like one, but the details were too hazy to see. Rex's long distance vision was still a bit blurry- it was only short distance vision that had cleared up since his sleep. He realized that whatever drug that had kept him on that bed- he doubted there wasn't one- still needed time to wear off.

It wasn't an entirely foreign concept to him- Holiday had used anesthetics with similar effects on him before. But no matter how he put it...

The coat hanger was still talking.

"Uh, no, I'm fine," Rex tentatively answered, unable to believe he was having a conversation with a furniture-like being. "I just-I just thought I could swing one more through. Who are you?"

The coat hanger chuckled. "Why don't we let your eyes decide that for you? Or my voice, perhaps. Also, I see the computer didn't work for you."

Rex blushed furiously. While he didn't consider it a crime to try to find information about where he was, it was certainly embarrassing to know someone had quietly watched him fail the hacking attempt the whole time.

The teen swallowed. "You didn't, um, stop me?"

"No, I didn't," the coat hanger agreed. "I knew you couldn't do anything with it. Tell me, Rex, do you know where you are?"

"I don't really know," Rex admitted. "Some hospital? That's what I thought at first. Did you bring me here?"

"It's not quite a hospital, but yes, I did bring you here," the coat hanger answered, amused with the boy's guess. "What do you last remember?"

Rex racked his brains for the memories, grateful he hadn't woken up amnesiac. "It was bad. Really bad. Providence was glowing, and then it started crumbling to the floor. It was like a bomb set it off...wait. Should I be telling you this?"

"It doesn't matter," the coat hanger responded. "It's on the news anyway. I just wanted your first hand account."

"How did you find me?"


	3. Run, child.

"You were lying on top of some massive EVO," the hanger informed him. "It seemed that you had died."

Rex took a moment to let the words sink in. He remembered using Mel as a pillow, and how hot the day was. He probably would have died if the furniture man- well, the voice sounded masculine, at least- hadn't gotten him away from the whole mess. And strangely enough, the voice began to sound more and more familiar...

"Do you work for Providence?" Rex asked bluntly, hoping for at least some form of identity. "I mean, do I know you?"

"I do not work for Providence, Rex," the hanger answered. "But I'm sure you know me. I highly doubt you could forget."

"Did I ever save your life? Are you, like, some EVO I cured, and this is the way you're thanking me?"

"No, not at all. I'm highly independent, thank you."

Rex narrowed his eyes, wondering if he'd just annoyed his savior- or captor, depending on how he looked at it. The teen didn't feel cold, so he probably wasn't at Paradise. It didn't feel too hot either, so he might not have been near a desert or a beach, either. Still, the room looked pretty professional, so it must have been somewhere pretty advanced. It couldn't be a normal hospital, however, since their databases were relatively easy to hack into. So where-

"How is your vision now?" the coat hanger suddenly asked, interrupting the boy's scattered thoughts. "Can you recognize me yet?"

Rex slowly walked closer to the other side of the room, the furniture creature becoming clearer with every step. At first, it looked like a giant coat rack, then took a more human like form. By the time he reached the center of the floor, it was-

Rex froze, and inhaled sharply. "Oh my fucking god. I'm fucking dead."

Van Kleiss grinned, entertained by the reaction. 

"It took you long enough."

Rex quickly tried to activate his giant metal fists, but to his utmost horror, it didn't work. His metal appendages, and the familiar tingling he felt before they sprouted from his flesh had all disappeared. Rex strained and tried again, then attempted to activate his giant boots. Still, it was completely useless. He felt, dare he say it...

Completely human. 

Rex quickly ran track to the door and pressed him entire weight against it, bracing for what would happen next. Van Kleiss, surprisingly, didn't move at all. 

"I find it quite funny, really," the man said, tapping the needles of his gauntlet against his arm as he crossed them. "You walked right by me, your fingers brushing against me even, and none the wiser."

A knot began to form in the teen's stomach. "How the fuck am I not dead yet? You didn't even cobra strike me!"

"That...is an interesting way to refer to that attack. But yes, I did not. You're still alive because I was curious about what you would do if you thought you were alone."

"What are you going to do to me?" Rex yelled, panic rising in his voice. "Decapitate me? Disembowel me? Burn me alive?"

Van Kleiss tilted his head. "You must have had some very dark dreams in your slumber. To put it simply, Rex, if I wanted to kill you, you would not be alive to ask me that."

"Where the fuck are my powers?"

"They're turned off, at the moment. Feel free to consider yourself vulnerable."

Rex sank to the floor, salvaging some personal comfort in the act of kneeling. No powers? Murderer spying on him the whole time? Providence exploding? Hospital room guinea pig? It made him, quite literally, sick to his stomach.

"I'm gonna puke," he mumbled, unaware that his enemy had heard him perfectly well. 

"I suggest you don't," Van Kleiss responded, kicking a small black bucket towards him. "But if you need to, do it in there. I would rather keep the rooms clean, thank you."

"You're a fucking savage. Where am I? You kidnapped me from Providence!"

The older EVO kept calm, unaffected by the insults- he had expected them, after all. "You're in Abysus, though you should have realized that quite a while ago. It's funny how rescues turn into kidnappings when I'm involved, isn't it? You're not very grateful."

Rex scoffed. "I'll bet you love this, you fucking nanite vampire. Let me go!"

"I shall do what I please," the king of Abysus informed the him, removing his weight from the wall and stepping forward. "What makes you think you're going to get away from this? Don't act ignorant, Rex."

Rex grabbed the bucket and threw it at the man angrily. "Not. Another. Step."

"Or what?"

The teen pursed his lips, and stood up. "I can still fight you. I'm young, and you're not."

Van Kleiss continued walking even closer. "I'm going to ignore that remark. And really, Rex. It's flesh against metal. Surely not even you would choose to be blind enough to ignore that fact."

"Try me."

The older EVO stopped just before the frustrated child, giving him nothing more than a disapproving look. Rex scowled but stood his ground, fully expecting the man to stab him with his dreaded metallic needles. The teen balled his fists and lowered his head to protect his neck, should he be gripped where he was most vulnerable.

"You do realize it would be a waste of time and resources to heal you and kill you afterwards, don't you?" Van Kleiss explained, hoping the boy would grab onto some sort of logic. "It's highly irrational to assume I'm going to murder you after taking you in."

"Tell that to Circe," Rex spat. "You're probably planning on torturing me before finishing me off, like the sick bastard you are."

"Everyone is a special case," the king informed him. "You especially-"

"Master?"

Both enemies turned towards the door, Rex slightly shaken from the interruption. He felt like a ticking bomb, in the sense that any unwelcome surprise would launch him into a frenzy. The older EVO recognized the voice, instantly satisfied. He pulled out a key from his coat pocket, reached around the anxious teen to unlock the door, and called for Biowulf to enter. 

"I'm glad you could come," Van Kleiss greeted him, shoving Rex aside to allow their new companion to enter. "He's being a bit difficult. Perhaps you could restrain him onto the bed for further questioning?"

The boy's eyes widened in fear, knowing that even if he found somehow land harsh punches on the king, he wouldn't be able to do anywhere near the same on his mechanical cohort. Biowulf entered the room and growled lightly, sensing the teen's fear.

"Let me know when you wish me to do so, master," the wolf-like EVO respectfully replied. "He won't leave until-"

Neither Van Kleiss nor his henchman were prepared for the speed at which Rex bolted out the door.

The teen ran as fast as he could- and just like when he flew towards the remains of his home, anxiety powered him through. His legs became a blur as he sped through the stone hallways, careful not to trip on a crack or an occasional pebble. 

Scanning the area for an exit, Rex's dark eyes darted to and fro, though not catching sight of anything familiar. His pace of breath increased as he turned various corners and jumped off of various low-distance ledges that provided ample framework for the cruel man's castle.

But it wasn't enough.

Though he believed Van Kleiss wasn't anywhere near him, the boy picked up on the growls and hisses of other dangerous EVOs nearby. He jogged a few more blocks, unable to run anymore, until he found himself next to in a large, empty room. It seemed like an area for massive storage space, but at the moment, it contained nothing.

He hid inside for protection, hoping that no wandering creature would go out of its way to spot him in there. The room was a bit cold, but the heat generated from his wild emotions inside his body balanced it out. For the first time since he'd ate that damn burger, he felt safe.

Until the walls began to close.


	4. Who tells the truth?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoy torturing good people. Pain and suffering drives me.

Cold, dark, and alone.

Well- technically, he knew he had company coming. He heard them down the hall. But he certainly felt alone.

Rex folded his legs towards his chest and stared at the floor, feeling the loose, yet firm grip of the metal cuffs around his limbs. The blasted things had snaked through the cracks in the walls as if they were sentient themselves, effectively trapping him with little room to move.

And it was then that the depressing thoughts, almost as dark as the room itself, began to creep into his mind.

He shuddered at the thought of what might become of him- though the occasionally thought would pop into his mind and ask why he cared in the first place. Everyone he knew was either dead or missing- they never found Holiday's, Six's, or Bobo's body after all- so the purpose of his life wavered. 

Rex knew he was an extremely significant EVO. With the power to cure whoever couldn't be without extremely expensive, elusive equipment, the teen understood that he had a role to play, even if he didn't know to what end. On the other hand, however, his emotions began to override him much more than they used to before, making him question if it was all worth it.

What was life without family?

The door to the dark chamber creaked open, and the lights switched on- causing a temporary shock to the boy's sensitive eyes. A man he'd never feared as much as he had until that moment walked slowly towards him, as if Rex was a skittish bunny that could easily hop away. The chains keeping him near the wall, however, begged to differ.

A pair of dark boots stopped just inches away from the teen's own filthy sneakers.

"Rex," a frighteningly familiar voice greeted him, enunciating each letter as if they were a treasure to be savored. "It's unfortunate you decided to run away, but we both knew that wouldn't last long."

Vile, vile man.

"I'm not surprised refuse to greet me," the king of Abysus continued. "I suppose in your sudden realizations, there are far more pressing matters you're dwelling on."

"Like you care," Rex mumbled, devoid of energy. Van Kleiss brushed stray locks of hair from his face bent down to face the boy at eye level.

"Listen to me, Rex," the man continued, his voice as silky as ever. "While you may believe you've become trapped in a hollow of demons of some sort, I assure you that this place is your haven. It has always been your home, and it was only a matter of time before you ended up back here again."

"I don't want to be here," the teen retorted. "It's not home."

"It most certainly is. Relax. You know as well as I do that at the moment, your thoughts are completely scattered. You aren't thinking straight. In due time, however, you will."

Rex frowned, but still kept staring at the stone floor beneath him. 

"You're not yelling at me or anything," the boy said after a short while. You took away my powers, but you're not even punching me in the face right now. Why?"

Van Kleiss shook his head and watched the pitiful teen curl his legs even closer towards his chest.

"I'm not going to hurt you unless I deem it appropriate," the man explained. "After all the trouble I've went through to get you here, killing you would be a waste. Besides, my problems never lied with you- rather, they were with Providence."

Rex's eye twitched. "I am Providence, damn you."

"Do you see what I mean about your inability to think rationally? You were never Providence, boy. You were their victim. A puppet to brainwash."

Rex glanced up at Van Kleiss for the first time, peering into eyes that were a shade of brown so unusual, they were almost red. 

"I'm not fucking stupid," the teen spat with as much energy he could muster- though, it was still quite low. "No one's brainwashing me. I have a mind of my own."

The older EVO raised a brow at the continuous swearing, but decided to address it later. "Yes, you do. They took it and abused it. They molded it into something that they hoped would consider itself inhuman. Machine, even."

"They probably tried to do that, but it failed," Rex vehemently disagreed. "It was just a casual thing. It's not like they pumped literal gasoline into me."

Van Kleiss closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "You were Providence's secret weapon, never their secret soldier. Think about the connotations."

"You look like you're pretty pissed at me."

"Not in the least, Rex. You're hurt, physically and mentally. Unless there's a necessary reason, there's no need to add onto it."

"Good. I wasn't going to apologize.”

The man folded his arms across his knees though making sure to create no impression of a looming attack. 

"You need to calm down," Van Kleiss explained. "Stress is only going to blind you to the truth even more. I understand that your mind is still gripped by a false reality, and that it will take time for the delusions to end- but you can start the process by at least accepting your current situation."

Rex scowled. "Arder en el infierno."

"Tal vez no quiero."

Rex blinked, completely taken aback- especially by the perfect pronunciation.

"Wait...you speak Spanish too?" the teen asked incredulously, temporarily forgetting his situation. "How?"

Van Kleiss rolled his eyes. "What, do you think you and your brother are the only people on this entire planet that can speak the language? I'm multilingual, Rex. It's the result of thousands of years of time travel."

Rex's face reddened, and he turned to face the floor again in an attempt to hide it. 

"I don't care, just let me go," Rex pleaded, his voice nearly inaudible as all the darkest thoughts of his mind flooded him once again. "I really, really need to leave."

"No," the older EVO denied. "You are deep inside my castle, of which I control every aspect. Every EVO here listens to my commands and would have you splattered across the floor faster than you could ever say "thrill me." The garden, as I am sure you're quite familiar with, is teeming with hungry EVOs who might see you as their next meal if I do not hold them back. Even if you manage to leave this building, you could face rabid wildlife that could tear you limb from limb, and poisonous plants that aren't in the least bit friendly."

Rex's eyes widened at the implications, and he shuddered at the thought of being torn apart at some savage creature's whim. He now felt only more hopeless than before. Here he was, trying to figure out if living was even all it was cracked up to be, and now he had the threat of death with any freedom he tried to achieve.

But wasn't the speech just part of the agenda?


	5. Sleep Well

The teen remembered that Van Kleiss often used scare tactics to get his way. It had almost worked with the terrorizing of the UN- thankfully, a bit of cold water fixed that right up. This was mostly likely a yet another method of terrifying him into submissiveness, really. When the man wasn't pretending to be charming, he could resort to downright cruelty. 

"I'm sure I'll find a way out of your little hellhole," Rex muttered. "I always do."

"Yes, but with the help of Providence," the older EVO pointed out. "Where are they now? Could you do it alone?"

The boy flinched, and wrapped his arms around himself as a way of shielding himself from the rebuttal. "They're...somewhere. I know they are. They always come back."

"You cling very tightly to delusions, Rex. A sad thing to see, considering how abused you were."

"Fuck you."

"It's true though, isn't it? Evidence is written all over your skin- though, it certainly runs far deeper than that."

Rex stared at himself, most noticeably at his bare arms. What was once normal skin had become tainted with a series of dark marks that in his experience, either never faded or healed too slowly to notice. But what was a life of fighting without a few scars? Hell, it would be extremely unusual to live through battles without a few marks left over. They were his badges of pride, dammit.

"You can see what I'm talking about." Van Kleiss insisted, gently running his long fingers against some of the bruises. The damaged skin was rough, and in some parts, scaly, even. "Clearly, Providence didn't care much about you if you hold so many physical reminders of what they forced you through."

"That's a lie," Rex shot back, shaking the man's fingers off. "Holiday always fixed me with medicine and junk if I got hurt. She cared about me because she never stopped doing that. You just ignore all that and pretend they didn't care!"

"You really are that far gone, aren't you? You're forgetting the fact that while they may have taken the time to heal you, they never prevented you from continuing to be at risk of pain and suffering. They encouraged you to become wounded all over again."

Rex scoffed. "I'm a soldier. That's my fucking job!"

"You were a child who worked for people who told you they could kill you at any moment, and dragged back if you ever escaped for peace of mind. Does that sound like a normal occupation to you?"

Rex honestly had nothing to say to that- at least, nothing at the moment- so he switched to a slightly different topic before he was verbally forced into a corner.

"Drop the act," the teen demanded, looking the man right in the eye. "You don't have to pretend you're some savior. We both know you just want my nanites."

"I do," Van Kleiss admitted, "But you're valuable as well, Rex. While it may have not been the best thing for you, you understand the world's current situation quite well, even if it is from the wrong side. Besides, one of my personal soldiers isn't with us anymore, so I could use a replacement."

Rex rolled his eyes. "One of your slaves decided you were an asshole and left? Don't tell me you're surprised."

"Skalamander did not leave. He died."

Rex stared at the older EVO with wide eyes, struggling to form words. "I-I- what-"

Van Kleiss dismissed the boy's stuttering with a wave of his hand. "He was stung to death by EVO fire ants. His mission was to capture their queen to be placed under my control, but he failed. I had to euthanize him quickly out of mercy- he couldn't handle the pain at all, really."

Rex backed away from the man and pressed himself against the wall as much as he could, fearful of the thought of being euthanized himself. What if the wretched king decided Rex was in too much pain himself- especially mentally? And how "merciful" could the process possibly be?

"Oh my fucking god," the teen breathed, his heart rate speeding up. "Don't fucking touch me."

"Hmm, perhaps you may have not heard me when I told you it was out of kindness. At any rate, I'm not planning on putting you out of your misery. But I do suggest you find a way to pry yourself out of it regardless."

Rex suddenly found his throat swelling with quite an unfamiliar feeling- perhaps a combination of dryness and terror- but nonetheless, tried to talk back regardless. "You scare the hell out of me and then tell me to calm down? You're seriously a psychopath."

"A psychopath wouldn't give you shelter. They would leave you in the debris."

"I'm in chains!"

"So you don't do anything drastic and end up dying far sooner than you would expect."

Rex groaned and smacked his head against the wall behind him. "I can't fucking rationalize with you."

Van Kleiss smirked. "I could say the same. Though, perhaps we should continue this conversation later. You need more time to adjust."

Rex gave the man a hateful glare, then tilted his head to stare at the ceiling. "At least be somewhat normal and let me drink something. I'm dying of thirst here."

"I see. Biowulf?"

The wolf like EVO, who had apparently been standing near the door the entire time, grunted and left the room. Minutes later, he returned with half a glass of water, and handed it to the boy.

Rex downed it faster than he'd ever drank anything in his entire life.

"You're such a piece of shit, I swear," Rex groaned, setting the glass next to his legs. "You couldn't even bother to fill it to the top? I'm dehydrated, I don't need just a casual sip."

Van Kleiss shook his head. "I realize you feel that way, but we couldn't have you overdose, now could we?"

Rex narrowed his eyes at the man, wondering how he could possible take too much water in his state. It took him only a few moments, however, to realize what exactly the older EVO meant.

"Oh...fuck no," Rex began to panic, his face becoming a few shades paler. "What did you put in-"

"Just something to help you fall asleep, I assure you," Van Kleiss answered with a grin. "No doubt you would have spent the entire night stressing about what can't be helped. I decided beforehand to take care of that. Nightly rumination can be a dangerous thing."

Rex yelled a few colorful words and launched himself forward, straining to escape the chains. His arms began to chafe and bleed from the force he applied, only further damaging his skin. Van Kleiss shrugged, and stood up.

"I'm not going to worry much about your tantrum, considering the fact that you won't be conscious for much longer," the older EVO said, brushing off any dust from his clothes. "Count your minutes, Rex. Goodnight."

"I'm GOING to DIE!" Rex screamed, feeling his energy slowly escape his body. "IS THIS YOUR WAY OF EUTHANIZING ME? YOU FUCKING COWARD! THAT WHOLE DAMN SPEECH WAS FOR NOTHING!"

Biowulf growled, and leaned towards Van Kleiss as the king approached him. "I don't know if he's compatible with us, master."

Van Kleiss glanced back at the panicking boy, and nodded. "In that state, he's not. For the next few months, he's going to be very volatile. Stages of grief are a long process."

"Why are we keeping him, then?"

"You'll see. For now, I don't trust him to be alone with himself. His emotions are going to be his worst enemy, despite what he thinks. He's had a shaky identity at best, and the only people who cared about him- I use the term "care" very loosely- are gone. He's been damaged inside and out. Rex is going to be a long term project."

"What is the worst case scenario?" Biowulf asked as he shut the door on the wailing teen. 

"Suicide. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there, won't we?"


	6. Peace

Being human felt pathetic.

Rex couldn’t believe he was reduced to someone with no powers at his control. Granted, the biggest surprise was that he’d woken up at all after drinking the sleep inducing concoction- he thought for sure he’d die that very night- but this was almost just as bizarre. 

He supposed that if he witnessed Noah acting scared of missions or large EVOs ever again, he’d refuse to poke fun at him. This was truly the most vulnerable he’d ever felt, and his empathy would only help him to comfort his skittish friend. 

Snip, snip.

At least Rex’s current job didn’t require superhuman strength- just a pair of shears and some gloves. He was covered with plant juices, but nothing particularly gruesome. For hours, as per Van Kleiss’s command, he’d been sentenced to the menial task of pruning various trees and shrubs. 

Of course, he’d launched into a heated argument with the man in retaliation, claiming it was just a trick to get him to cut himself, but was promptly told that any blood and nanite samples the king needed had already been extracted from him when he had slept. Furthermore, Van Kleiss had insisted that lush greenery and fresh air would calm his robust temper, making both of them feel at least a little more at peace. 

Well...

Rex may not have felt like claiming the castle as his home anytime soon, but to his partial dismay and relief, the plan was actually working. He didn’t consider himself to be at one with nature or anything- he was part machine, the furthest one could be from it- but it certainly was somewhat soothing. Flowers emitted nice smells when he pruned their vines, causing him to pick a favorite already- white jasmines.

He could have sworn they smelled like Holiday.

By the time the teen was done, he’d become quite hungry. His last meal- if anyone could call greasy meat and potatoes a proper meal- wasn’t filling at all, causing his stomach to growl in desperation. Rex slid down the ladder from the fig tree he’d tended to and made his way out of the garden, meeting the darker, lifeless hallways once again. Lifeless aside from hungry EVOs, that is- himself included.

But a crashing sound made him stop in his tracks.

Rex stared at a door to his left where the direction of the sound came from, his eyes wide. Frankly, it didn’t take much to set him on edge as of late. Still, his curious remained, so he slowly crept to the entrance of the room. Grateful that the door was already open, even if it was just by a smidge, he twisted his head sideways to fit both of his eyes on top of the crack- and was instantly surprised by what he saw.

It was a shirtless man in tattered clothing, hunching over a sheet-less bed and breathing heavily. The stranger’s hair was bright red, and of average length. His pale frame was mildly muscular- he was more on the skinnier side, from what Rex could tell. The man’s face wasn’t distinguishable, but he had very noticeable scars on his back to make up for it. But what was the most jarring to the teen was what was sticking out of the back of the man’s grey sweatpants-

A large, blue tail.

Rex gulped. He’d never seen Biowulf in his human form before.

The boy bolted, hoping the EVO- human- whatever wouldn’t be able to smell him. How was it possible? Had Biowulf always been able to switch between forms? Had Rex ever met the man in his human form and not even know it? Was Biowulf used as a secret spy because he could switch back and forth? Who did he know that had genuine red hair? When did-

THWACK.

Rex stumbled backwards after face planting into a wall out of pure inattention, gripping his stinging nose. A nearby snake like EVO hissed out of alarm before slithering away, leaving the teen alone with his stupidity. The boy kept his hand on his face to staunch the bleeding and slowly continued his escape, though startled right out of the train of thoughts that had zoomed though him just moments earlier. After taking a few more turns, he found something he hadn’t quite seen before in the old castle.

A shiny elevator. 

Taking the chance to, Rex casually pressed the button to open it and stepped inside- oh, how he longed for the days he could force doors apart with a simple touch- and examined the buttons. Their number appeared to match the amount of floors the castle held, but were written in a language Rex couldn’t quite recognize.

Curse multilingualism. Why couldn’t everyone just stick to one language and make life so much easier? It was constantly a pain to have to-

Oh. 

It appeared to Rex that he had hit his head harder than he thought, as it took him a few moments to realize it wasn’t some foreign gibberish, but rather, Roman numerals. 

But, whatever. This wasn’t Rome. The opinion still applied. 

Rex glanced at each of the buttons, trying to recall the basics of the ancient numerical system, until his eyes landed on the last one. Strangely enough, it was written entirely in English- the bold, green letters read “Peace”. Rex cocked a brow, wondering what it could possibly mean. The button indicated the floor was deep under the castle, possibly about twenty feet below. Whatever “Peace” meant, it was kept quite secluded from the outside world.

Only one way to find out. 

Rex pressed the button hesitantly, and watched the doors close, feeling a bit claustrophobic. He sensed the familiar rumble of machinery, and his weight felt a little bit lighter as he travelled downwards. The light above switched on, banishing the darkness that engulfed the boy’s tense figure, brightly illuminating the metal capsule.

Three floors to go.

Two floors...

One more...

The elevator dinged and pulled back the doors to let its young passenger out, its sleek metal sliding smoothly. Rex stepped out and uttered a prayer of thanks for the fresh cold air- then felt his heart nearly stop. 

Tombstones. 

The teen nearly forgot all about his throbbing nose when he stepped into what seemed to be a massive graveyard, spanning across at least a couple of acres. The ceiling made of dirt towered high above the boy, safely away from the site, and was covered in glowing panels that guided his sight around the chamber. Some of the graves he could see were ornately decorated, while others were kept plain. None, however, seemed dilapidated in the least.

Was this where Van Kleiss kept his victims? 

Rex slowly walked through the rows, scanning the names on the large stones. Strangely, he didn’t have to wipe off the dirt at all- it was as if they had only just been placed. He couldn’t recognize any of the inscribed identities; some weren’t even in an alphabet he could understand. As he perused the morbid scene, a tiny, hairless, pink EVO popped out of the dirt to stare at the teen.

“Oop- hey there, little guy,” Rex greeted it softly, finding it absolutely adorable. “Do you live down here? Are you friendly?”

The naked mole rat- like creature squeaked, and fully emerged from the ground. It’s body reminded the boy of a cross between a rat and a cat as it wiggled its rump for attention. Rex chuckled and gently tapped it on the head with his shoe, though careful not to expose his skin to it. The EVO squeaked in delight.

“Wow, you’re too cute to be in a place like this,” the teen whispered, kneeling down to observe it better. “I should take you home...if I get home.”

The EVO responded by crawling towards Rex’s foot and affectionately nibbling on the tip of his shoe. Rex smiled gleefully from ear to ear, relieved that there was some eye bleach to help balance out the doom and gloom of the graveyard.

“I’ve gotta name you!” the boy gushed, admiring its small size. “I’m definitely keeping you in my pocket. Should I call you Bubblegum? Maybe Taffy, or maybe even-“

SPLAT.

Rex squealed in surprise as a large green boot smacked the small creature against a nearby rock at lightning speed, killing it instantly. Blood and internal organs seeped out from the creature’s broken mouth and ruptured skin, making Rex nearly vomit from the sight. Its skeleton was brutalized to the point where tiny white bones peeked out every which way through its softness. 

The teen jolted his head up to see who could possibly express such heartlessness, and found a young blonde woman staring right back.

“They’re sweet lookin’ aren’t they?” the tall woman asked, her grey eyes shining with amusement. “I wouldn’t get too attached to them. They’re pretty vicious pests.”

Rex continued staring at her like a deer in headlights, his heart still beating rapidly from the shock. “What- who are you?”

The blonde smiled, placed a hand on her hip, and offered her other one to him to pull him up.

“Chill, my guy,” she greeted him. “I’m the Gravekeeper.”


	7. Graveyard Snack

Rex scrambled backwards and avoided touching her outstretched hand, utterly appalled by her actions.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he asked her, standing up a good few feet away. "You could have at least warned me!"

The Gravekeeper crinkled her nose in confusion. "I didn't need to. Those things mess up the yard real bad. And geez, you're acting like he's your only friend in the world or something."

Rex instantly felt his heart constrict at her unintentionally painful words. It hurt to think about, but as long as he didn't see Noah and Bobo, the chick was right. Surrounded by vicious enemies, he was pretty much alone. 

The teen brushed dirt off his clothes and gave her a hateful glare.

"Whatever," he huffed, giving her the most basic teenage response he could muster. "I'm going back up."

"But you just got here! Hey, buddy, I don't know what your problem is, but you could hang out for a little while! It gets lonely, y'know?"

Rex faltered for a moment, realizing he felt pretty much the same way. Besides, she wasn't exactly as scary as the others- so far- so though it might be a bit of a time waster, he could probably stay for a bit. 

Even if the lunatic did just kill Taffy.

"Okay fine, but only as long as you don't go violent like the rest of the EVOs upstairs," he reluctantly agreed. "One psycho move out of you and I'm out. I'm already dealing with enough batshit people as it is."

The Gravekeeper giggled. "You've got some enemies upstairs, dontcha? Let's start with names so you don't turn tail. I'm Caroline, but you can call me Carrie."

"I'm Re-er-Reginald," the teen lied, still unsure if she was as trustworthy as she seemed. Carrie nodded.

"Why don't I just call you Rex, then?" she asked, startling the boy. "That's what "Reginald" is short for anyways. Would ya mind?"

Dammit. No wonder the name sounded so familiar. 

"I guess, yeah," Rex sighed, his lungs deflating with disappointment. "But never mind that. What are you doing down here?"

"Well, buddy, I live here," she answered, puffing up her chest with pride. "I make sure all the tombstones are nice and clean, bury bodies, set the flowers for the table on the patio, and-"

"Wait, what patio?" Rex asked, cutting her off. "Why is there a patio down here? Who comes down to chill in a graveyard?"

Carrie shrugged. "A lot of people do. The Boss upstairs comes down to visit sometimes and sits there to read the news, or meditate or something. It sounds kind of morbid, but it's really not."

"We're...we're surrounded by dead people."

"And death is a part of life, but people ignore that all the time. Wanna try it out?"

And before Rex knew it, he was having cookies and coffee amongst the sea of gravestones.

"So...who's buried down here?" Rex asked a while later, dipping his third cookie into his drink. "Is it Van Kleiss's enemies or something?"

"Some of 'em, yeah," the Gatekeeper informed him. "Some are just people he likes to keep close anyways. Y'know?"

Rex took a sip of his coffee, then set it down on the glass table. "Like his...parents?"

For the first time, it occurred to the boy that Van Kleiss didn't just spawn from under a radioactive rock, even if it did seem like it. 

"Oh no, not his parents. They come by once in a while to hang out in the other big garden upstairs. I usually fix up the plants beforehand, but he said that this week he found someone else for the job."

Rex nearly choked on his fourth cookie. "His parents...visit? What the fuck? He has an actual family? Do they not know about any of the shit he does? Are they rampaging EVOs too?"

Carrie laughed, and handed the teen a napkin. "No, they're both pretty human. They like the atmosphere up there- it's vintage and goth, but cheery because of the flowers. I've had lunch with them a few times. They're okay."

Rex remained baffled by the fact that such a cruel EVO overlord still had lunch with his parents. If he got the chance, he'd certainly have to meet them and get them to try to smack some sense into their son. Unless, of course, Van Kleiss was the abusive kind of guy who ordered his parents around.

"Damn," he mumbled, his chin resting on his hands in thought. "You just flipped my world upside down."

"Nice to know. You should come down here more often! It's a great place to chill. Study too."

"Study?"

Carrie smiled, and twirled her cookie in her drink. "As long as I work for him, the Boss is helping me pay my way through college. This is my last year in getting my bachelor's degree for my career path. I'm gonna be a divorce lawyer."

That was unexpected. Rex had experience with broken families in his life- and not just his own- so he hoped she had a strong heart for the job. 

Or at least, an iron wall built around it.

"That's pretty tough," Rex replied, finishing his last cookie and standing up. "And I guess this place is okay to relax in, but I've gotta go now. I might come back and visit, but I don't know if I should be down here. Van Kleiss might throw a fit or something. I was supposed to just work in the garden and that's it. You reminded me of that."

"Aww, c'mon? What, you can't fight him a bit to stay longer? A little tussle never hurt anyone. Or are you human?"

Ouch. For someone so oblivious, this girl had a knack for asking painful questions. 

"Yes to the first, and no to the second," Rex sighed, pushing his chair in. "It's complicated. I'm...shut off. But I'm definitely going to find a way to fix that. See you later."

Rex walked back to the elevator, pressed a button he hoped was the right one, and in a few moments, made it back to the floor he'd worked on that morning. Now that he was full- even if his meal had still just been junk food- he had enough energy to run back to the garden where he had left his shears, gloves, and a hopefully acceptably completed job.

Biowulf stood at the entrance, now completely in EVO form.

"Where were you?" the blue and white EVO asked, his voice sounding as impatient as White Knight's used to be. "Master has been asking for you to start your new diet.”

Rex made a face. "What? Ew. Is he gonna make me eat fish pellets or something?"

"Don't defy him. Run down to the mess hall and grab your food. It should be empty of the other EVOs by now."

"But I'm full."

"Run, boy."

The teen groaned and turned back the way he came, trying to figure out where the mess hall was. That was like a cafeteria, right? It should smell like food. Taking a few sniffs as he jogged the stone hallways, he began to smell something like a stew. Tomatoes? Beef? Spices? 

He couldn't tell, but the more he wandered forward, the stronger the varied scents became.

After a few minutes of tracking the smells like a bloodhound, Rex finally stumbled upon the mess hall. It painfully reminded him of the cafeteria back in Providence, even if he didn't choose to eat there. There were various pots strewn across metal counters- some empty, some full. A few smelled nasty, but perhaps those were for the EVOs with strange diets. 

One pot in particular, however, smelled downright delicious. Rex lifted its lid and saw a lovely meaty soup, though filled with quite a lot of vegetables. The smells that wafted from the flavorful concoction made his mouth water, prompting him to grab a nearby plastic spoon and dip it in for just one bite-

Rex's attention was instantly cut off as a giant hand smacked him away.

Breach- having teleported at just the right time- stood right next to him, giving him a disapproving look. "That's not for you, Shiny. Yours is there."

Rex glanced towards where Breach pointed, finding nothing on the indicated table. He was about to complain, when a small red portal opened up a foot above, dropping a plate of strange looking food on it. The boy grumbled before walking over to the table, observing his meal.

It might as well have been rabbit feed.

For the first time in his life, Rex saw his plate filled with nothing but vegetables. It would certainly be Noah's delight, but it was quite disturbing to him. There were pieces of squash, beans, turnip, bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, and other various plants set out for his consumption- but nothing more.

Where was the meat? Where was the grease? The decorative pizza slice? Not even a chicken nugget? 

"This is one of the cruelest things that he's ever done to me," Rex moaned, staring at the edible garden. "If I don't see some fried chicken on here, I'm going to drop dead."

"No, you're not," a familiar, authoritative voice responded, causing the hairs on the back of the teen's neck to rise. "You have no choice but to eat all of it, either. If you want an explanation, however, you may ask me politely."


	8. Compost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic is going crazy and I might just lose control. I’m losing my soul

Rex turned right around and almost managed to leave the table until Van Kleiss grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him back.

"You're not leaving," the man informed him, forcing the boy onto a chair. "These vegetables are much better than any trash you've eaten before, and will cleanse your system, creating a much healthier soldier for me."

"You can't force me to be vegetarian!" Rex sputtered, failing to release his enemy's grip. "You absolute maniac! I need energy, not compost!"

"I'm not, and there are plenty of energy, fiber, and nutrients. If you attempt to escape again, perhaps I'll throw you against a wall. You don't have your normal healing abilities, so I imagine it would hurt much more than you've experienced before."

Rex's shoulders and spirits sank, as he was unwilling to face bodily damage. He sighed and slumped his head onto the table, mentally preparing to eat the greens. 

"Fuck my life," he groaned- right before receiving a sharp kick to his chair that knocked the wind right out of him.

"Oh, and another thing," Van Kleiss continued, sitting on the opposite side of the table. "I've tolerated your pitiful language long enough. I've allowed you only the terror of the initial shock, but that's surely worn off by now. From now on, swearing will earn you punishment."

Rex, still gaining his breath back, stared at the man as if he'd grown two heads. "You- you're literally stripping me of every part of my identity. That's insane! C'mon, you can't do this to me!"

"Of all the things you cling onto, this is the most ridiculous. What would your parents think?"

Rex balked at the older EVO, wondering where he'd gotten the audacity to bring up his dead folks. Yes, his parents would be disappointed with his language, but if they knew the circumstances, they would be much more lenient. The topic was in general extremely wrong for this moment. But if the king wanted to toy with his emotions, it was time for Rex to indulge in an old hobby of his...

Trolling.

"I don't care what my parents think," Rex replied, acting as if he genuinely meant what he said. "They're gone, and I don't remember them at all, so I could care less. What does it matter?"

Van Kleiss stared at him for a moment, perplexed by the sudden change in behavior.   
He came to the conclusion that he might have struck a nerve a little too hard.

"While I may not have been on the best of terms with them, it's disgusting to see you disrespect them that way," the man replied. "They're your parents, after all."

"Okay, well, let me know when they're coming to ground me. Maybe you should conduct a seance or something."

"That is no way to talk about-"

"Nah, c'mon. If you think my parents hold any control over me whatsoever, you're dead wrong. I've been doing wild shi-er- things without having a clue about them. We might as well diss them together, since you don't like them, and I don't even know them."

Rex kept a casual smile on his face all the while while watching the man's paler one contort in shock, but internally, he was starting to hate himself for even saying such things. The sad part was that it was partially true- he didn't remember his folks well enough to have any emotional attachment to them. He knew it was disrespectful, but he couldn't seem to feel the impact of it.

But it certainly was fun watching the reaction he'd gained from it all.

"Rex, you have no idea what you're talking about," Van Kleiss sharply informed him. "Drop the topic immediately- your words are absolutely vile. I don't need to listen to you spout ignorance."

Rex faked a laugh. "When did you grow a moral compass? I wasn't even insulting you."

"You're losing control of yourself. I expected this to happen, but it was much quicker than I previously imagined. Perhaps I should send you back into the garden to help you regain a sane train of thought."

Rex quit his facade and regressed into his gloomier state of mind, his face reflecting the change just as quickly. 

"No, I'm fine," he muttered. "I'm done there. Leaves are cut."

The older EVO became slightly alarmed by what seemed like mood swing, and made a note to begin a mental health assessment for the boy sometime soon. Emotional outbursts were normal, but if they never left, it could lead to far worse. 

"The garden was supposed to calm you, not depress you," the man said, watching for any important details the child conveyed. "What happened?"

"I could tell you the truth, or I could lie to you," Rex huffed. "You're ruining my life either way."

"I have not damaged you in the least," the king told him. The boy was trailing off onto nonsensical tangents he wasn't sure he could connect. "You haven't disobeyed any of my orders yet. You've only responded to them crudely. For now, I'm not holding it against you."

Rex placed his face onto the table and buried it under his crossed arms. "You don't know anything about how I function. And if you did, you wouldn't care. I want to leave."

Van Kleiss narrowed his eyes. "You aren't leaving, for one thing- and your behavior doesn't make any sense either. You were perfectly normal just a few moments ago. What aren't you telling me?"

"Stop it."

"I demand an answer for your ridiculous behavior."

Rex pulled his head from the table and scowled at him, not caring how many times he'd get kicked for his upcoming rant.

"You're a fucking IDIOT if you think I'll be perfectly fine and dandy if my entire home was DESTROYED and my family gone MISSING one day ago, and you're so FUCKED UP that you think you're going to HELP me with this nasty plant BARF, and EVERYWHERE I go I'm just reminded of what I DON'T HAVE anymore, and everyone in this place is a goddamn CRACKPOT who can't take NO for an answer or thinks eating with DEATH is FUN, and..."

The older EVO stayed quiet during the entirety of the boy's rant, focused on the intense aggression- well, as aggressive as the teen could be without getting physical. He watched in fascination as the child's face became redder and redder, almost expecting a tear or two to escape. 

But none did- at least, not yet.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m losing my head

Some of the claims made sense, but others were bizarre- what did "eating with death" mean? From the absolute mess of a speech, the king could pick out two common themes he'd expected anyway-

Helplessness and loneliness.

Rex finally finished his rant and glared at the man, realizing that most of what boosted his little tantrum was his mind's retaliation against insulting his own parents. He hated the king for forcing him into this position and pretending to be oblivious about the cause of his suffering. As if a garden was some end-all cure.

Furthermore, he hated himself for dirtying his parents' names, and on top of it, not being able to find a way out of this whole mess. Normally he would have escaped Abysus in a few hours at most, but he'd been trapped here far longer than that. He hated himself for allowing the older EVO to use him so easily.

To put it simply, as of right now, he hated  
everything.

The two sat quietly for a few moments, the younger of them visibly stressed out. Van Kleiss decided to break the silence first.

"Rex, you've only been conscious here for a day. You're overreacting."

"I'm going to assume you just went deaf."

"While what you said was quite heated and a tad inappropriate, it wasn't unexpected," the man went on. "You need to understand that you're only harboring these resentments because your mind is still clinging to a lie. In time, when you learn that not everyone here is out to kill you, you'll relax. But for now, I don't believe the best solution would be to leave you alone to yourself."

Rex's stared at him incredulously. "You literally just ignored every word I said!"

"I heard it all, I assure you. But these thoughts are building up from painful solitude, and not to mention, fear. Healing is a painful process, but if you do what I tell you to do, you'll be better for it in the end."

"No, I won't be," Rex vehemently denied. "You just want me to do every little thing you say for your sake while pretending that it's good for me. Just hurry up and admit you're a liar! It's not like you haven't done far worse to me before."

"Different situations call for different actions, Rex," Van Kleiss insisted, paraphrasing himself from yesterday. "For example, I have no need to throw you off of a plane at this moment, even if I believed it necessary before."

Rex dropped his head onto the table again, hissing into the wood. "You're delusional! I'm just going to accept the fact that I'm going to have a breakdown or something whenever I see you. There's nothing you can do about it. You're too far gone."

"Perhaps I could treat you to some therapy?" The older EVO offered, disturbed by the thought of facing a loud fit whenever he met his newest soldier. "It might-"

"I'm not crazy," Rex shot back. "I'm not the kidnapper here." 

The king, for the first time during the heated chat, grinned in amusement. "Therapy isn't necessarily for people who've lose their minds- although, you seem to be toeing that border. It's for people who want to get their thoughts and emotions back on track."

"You mean, bend them toward your will? That's called brainwashing."

"Call it whatever you like, but I refuse to have you meet me like this every time we come into contact. You need to fix yourself one way or another. You don't want to suffer every second while living here, do you?"

"I don't want to live here in the first place!"

"And what could you possibly do about it?"

Rex rolled his head sideways to face the older EVO better, and grimaced. "Tell your parents."

Van Kleiss fell into a sudden silence, making the teen feel slightly uncomfortable. Rex hoped he hadn't said anything that would get him killed in two seconds flat- but then again, the older EVO would probably give some lecture before carrying the murder out. More time to live, right?

"I have no idea what you're on about," the man slowly responded after a while. "Is this your attempt to lash back at me for mentioning yours? It's not a very good one."

"It will be when they come visit," Rex dared to continue, raising his head. "I'll tell them everything you've ever done to me and watch them disown you faster than you could flash your claws."

"Rex, once again, you aren't making any sense."

"Neither does the fact that you still brunch with your folks, but here we are."

The king stared at the boy, utterly confused, then nodded. "I... see. Biowulf?”

Rex turned around to find the mechanical EVO appear from behind the entrance of the mess hall, welding a massive dart gun. He froze in shock while the two stared at him, waiting to see what he would do next.

"Wait!" Rex pleaded. "Don't shoot! Why-"

"Complete your orders, Biowulf. You'll see exactly why."

Luckily for the teen, the needle was so sharp, he hardly felt the sting.


	10. Post Dart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this with my 27 remaining brain cells

Biowulf placed the gun on the table after the Rex fell unconscious onto the floor. He then reached down to pick the boy up and threw him over his shoulder.

"That was...sudden," the wolf-like EVO remarked. "What did he do to irritate you, master?"

Van Kleiss narrowed his eyes at the teen's limp figure, then began to exit the mess hall. "He's spent so little time here, but he's acting bizarre already. We need to check on those blood samples from earlier in the laboratory."

The two walked through the halls, taking the stairs a few floors down, and finally reached the lab. Biowulf switched on the lights and lied Rex on top of an examination table, and tied ropes across him in case he woke up too soon. The king, meanwhile, removed the samples of the boy's blood from the day before and obtained the test results that had come with it. He examined the reports, making note of the significance of every number in each substance category.

"I don't believe he's overdosed on any of the drugs that I gave him- at least, these numbers indicate that," the older EVO explained. "But you should have heard his speech. It started off normal, then went into strange tangents and mood swings."

"How so, master?"

"Well, he talked about how it was relaxing to eat with death, then said he'd talk to my parents-"

"Your parents?" Biowulf interjected, dragging his claws lightly across Rex's chest. "Where do you think that came from? I thought they were-"

"They are traitors irrelevant to our cause."

Biowulf instant silenced. The king raised a brow disapprovingly, then continued.

"As I was saying, I do not know where the wild delusions came from- and I mean besides the ones Providence has instilled into him- but I will find reasons, rest assured."

The wolf-like EVO shifted uncomfortably in his stance. "Master, I do not mean this offensively, but it seems as if the boy is influencing you."

Van Kleiss scoffed, and switched to reading a different document. "Now what are you on about? The child has not changed my views on anything. I'm trying to change his. I have much more freedom to do so, as he doesn't quite have a choice anymore."

"You've told me his parents were gone for the better of the world, but even then, you seemed to become irritated when Rex denied their influence over him."

"Oh, that," the king acknowledged, his tone of voice slightly less annoyed due to receiving an explanation for at least some madness. He stood up and placed tiny vials of blood into a nearby device for centrifuging. 

"Biowulf, don't become as deluded as Rex," the older EVO began. "I couldn't care any less about his parents- they were a stain on scientific innovation. My concern lied with his behavior towards the subject. Normally he tends to be caught off guard when I choose to bring them into the light, but this time, he accepted it. Encouraged it, even. It was disturbing to see such a change, and that was not normal in any sense of the word."

Biowulf nodded, grateful to have his misconceptions fixed. "That is odd, yes. Why do you believe he did that?"

Van Kleiss stared at the blood samples for a moment, drumming his fingers on the lab reports in thought. "My hypothesis would be that he hasn't started acting strangely just now, but rather, has been cracking under pressure for quite some time now. I doubt those fools at Providence noticed anything, and might have even increased it. Hopefully, I can reverse his mental decline, and give him an entirely new mindset altogether...even if I have to force it."

"How?"

"He's just a young boy. His mind is malleable enough, and he would easily succumb to torture, no matter what he thinks of himself. We'll be rid of his arrogance soon enough."

Biowulf took a few moments to let the words sink in, though he shuddered at the mention of torture. He had been there when Van Kleiss punished Skalamander to the point of no return, and the memories had been scarred into his soul. Remembering what Van Kleiss had told the boy before giving him the sleeping serum, he realized it was a strange sort of half truth. At the end of the severe beating, Skalamander had indeed asked to be killed out of mercy, begging for his life to end. The king gladly agreed, more than eager to end his existence.

Obsolete.

"Since paranoia festers inside the boy's mind when he's alone, I need him to be more mentally occupied," Van Kleiss stated, interrupting Biowulf's thoughts. "I haven't visited our library for quite some time now, but I could lock the boy inside and deprive him of nourishment if he does not pick up a book and read. Perhaps I'll have him write a report on it as well, just to make sure he doesn't shirk his orders."

"What kind of a book?"

"There are recent ones written on the current state of EVOs, for one. If they hold negative views towards our kind, Rex will be ordered to come up with arguments against them with proof from his experiences of the cruelty committed by Providence. For now, we shall change his views gently- but if that doesn't work, we'll move onto harsher methods."

"Gently?" the mechanical EVO repeated. "He's hardly been respectful to you, master."

"It's not as if Providence is coming to rescue him anytime soon. By the way...I will have to find out what exactly destroyed them. If it was another being, EVO or not, I could use them as an ally. Or better yet, place them under my control."

"What about a minor mission for the boy?"

The king shook his head, neatly placing the lab reports into a folder. "He's much too weak at this point in time- functionally human, and easily killed off. I'm not going to go through the trouble of attaining him just to have him die in an accident so quickly."

"You sadistic fuck," a sudden voice weakly spouted, cutting off their conversation. "Let-let me up."

The older EVO glanced at the table, watching Rex's eyes flutter open- and detected a faint, but stable hatred in them. He ushered Biowulf to stand closer to him for extra restraint, and placed the folder neatly onto a counter. 

"Maybe if you watched your language, I would," Van Kleiss informed him. "But you don't, so feel free to lie there longer."

"Ughhhh," Rex groaned, turning to face the two. "I'm- headache- ow. How did you take my powers from me?"

"I'll keep my secrets, Rex."

Rex turned his head to face his enemies and gave a half grin, still feeling slightly woozy from the dart. "Yeah, there are a ton of secrets here kept from me. I didn't know your dog here was half human."

Biowulf froze. 

Van Kleiss stood up and walked closer to the dizzy teen, checking his eyes for any strange signs. "Still under the effects, I see. You're just spouting more fantasy."

"It's- don't look at me like that- it's not fantasy. Biowulf's-"

CRASH.

The two enemies jolted at the sudden noise, finding that an empty glass vial had shattered across the floor. Biowulf instantly sank to his knees and bowed to the king.

"My apologies, master," the mechanical EVO said, reaching out to grab a broom and dustpan from a nearby cabinet. "I knocked it over. I'll clean it up."

"Why don't you clean it with your human body?" Rex half taunted, half genuinely asked. "Claws can't hold a broom like fingers can. Mutt."

The eldest EVO clamped his gauntlet over the teen's eyes, hoping to reduce his strange chatter. "Quiet, Rex. You're only half awake. Biowulf, while not necessarily always competent, is one of my most loyal soldiers-and an EVO through and through."

The blue and white EVO nodded, internally grateful that the man doubted Rex's ramblings due to the drugs. 

Rex shook his head weakly to remove the metal appendage from his face. "That's cold! Get it off me! Stop blinding me!"

The king rolled his eyes, removing his gauntlet and walking back to the lab counter. Rex struggled to make out the figures before him- the tranquilizer still held a strong effect on him- but continued talking anyway.

"You're a liar, but what else is new?" the boy accused his captor. "I don't have Stockholm Syndrome, like you keep saying over and over."

"I didn't say that specifically- but in a way, I suppose you do."

Rex began to cough, his body contracting from the force he applied to his chest and stomach. "Sorry, I'm allergic to bullshit. Can't help it. Stand a little farther."

Van Kleiss raised a brow, preparing a serum to knock the irritating boy right back to sleep. 

"If you truly were," the older EVO began, filling a syringe, "It's a miracle how you survived living at Providence for so long."

Rex found no words to reply with, so he stuck his tongue out and left it at that.


	11. Betrayal

The king attached the needle to the syringe and sealed it shut, giving the boy an amused side-eyed glance. "Hold still, Rex. Apparently, the dart didn't complete the job."

The teen's eyes bulged when his vision cleared up just enough to identify the shape of the syringe. Panic began to creep into his chest, and his limbs suddenly began to feel like ice. The boy began to thrash around despite the restraints, irritating Biowulf.

"WAIT!" Rex shouted, his heart beating faster as his enemy began to walk closer. "Don't kill me! STOP! I'll shut up! I'm serious!"

"Begging is very unlike you," the older EVO remarked, stopping just next to the child. "Why should I give you a chance to live? You insist on being useless."

Rex stared into the eyes of his captor, his heart rate now erratic enough to skip random beats. Was this the end of him? Was this going to be how a global legend died?Had the tyrant finally snapped? Knowing he was too physically weak to break the restraints, Rex closed his eyes, preparing for the worst- 

But to his surprise, he only heard a light chuckling. 

The teen dared to pry his eyelids open, only to find Van Kleiss placing the syringe in a cabinet on the wall just behind him. Though he was still incredibly tense, Rex was now confused as well.

"I wasn't going to kill you, delusional child," Van Kleiss informed him, undoing the metal cuffs on the boy's arms and legs. "Just put you back to sleep. But I've changed my mind. I'm going to be a little more courteous with you, and give you another chance. But right now, I want you to run."

Rex leaped off the metal table and dashed out of the room as fast as he could, bumping into the doorframe as he made his hasty escape. The king shook his head and sat back down at his chair next to the lab counter, taking in the new peace that filled the room. 

Oh, what a lovely difference the lack of a wild child could make. 

Biowulf only wished he could relax just as much. 

"Why did you let him go?" the mechanical EVO asked, standing upright after clearing the scattered glass. "He's still half asleep."

"The dart will wear off, and he'll be just fine. It was weak, anyway. All the possible exits are either sealed, or too strong for a mere human to break. He can't truly leave."

Biowulf nodded and leaned against the wall, pretending to be calm. But inside, a hailstorm of frightening thoughts began to crash around in his head. If the man could terrify such a strong boy like Rex, and punish a loyal EVO like Skalamander, he couldn't imagine what would happen to him if Van Kleiss knew of his true intentions...

Betrayal.

As much as Biowulf craved the protection and guidance of his master, he could not deny that the man was outright terrifying when displeased. And even worse, Rex had almost managed to reveal a secret that could have had him dead by tomorrow- his conversion. It wasn't a true conversion yet, but ever since Van Kleiss had begun experimenting with equipment that reversed the EVO transformation- as ironic as that sounded- the blue EVO had taken great care and caution to sample them. 

The samples weren't perfect. If anything- like Rex had stated- he predicted he would only ever reach the status of a half EVO. At the most, even if he was able to maintain his true human form, he could always instantly transform back into his much more powerful frame. In some ways, that was even better, considering the sense of normality as well as security.

But the only other EVO who knew was Skalamander, Biowulf felt luckier for it. The fact that his secret died with its second owner pleased him, even if the ordeal did emphasize what could get well become his own fate.

But, like deciding if loyalty itself was worth it or not, that was a matter for a different time.

"He's going to be very tired," Biowulf remarked, stretching his long legs one by one. "He hasn't eaten since he came here."

The king leaned back on his chair, wishing it was as grand as his throne. "That is entirely his problem, and only he can fix that. If he wants to starve, I can just wait for him to break down."

"I understand, master. I just found it odd you changed your mind so quickly."

"Consider it the start of a sense of trust. Yes, he was terrified, but my allowance of his leave should have left an impact on him. Hopefully, from small incidences like these, he will realize that I am not seeking to slit his throat the first chance I get."

 

 

Meanwhile, Rex dashed through the halls, unwilling to stop despite his burning legs. It reminded him of his first day here, how he had ran helplessly like a hunted deer. But this time, it was even worse. He was starving, and worst of all, functionally human.

Rex slowed to a jog after a few minutes, realizing his human-like body couldn't keep up with his will. True, extensive training had left him athletic, but not to the point where he could make his body do what it physically unable to. He hated the fact that he became tired much faster, as well as hungrier. The only few times he had ever felt his powers shut off hardly affected him, due to the fact that all it took was a little distance to restore his abilities.

But there was no logical distance he could run if he didn't even know what was causing him to remain human. A machine? An EVO spy following him? More than anything, he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

As much as he hated to admit it, being human was the primary cause of his distress.

The teen recalled how utterly terrified he'd been of Van Kleiss back in the waiting room- or at all these last few days, really. He'd never been that afraid before. He'd always had that cheery demeanor that accompanied his brawls, and even when times got tough, he calmed himself with jokes. Everyone around him knew of his tendencies to use humor as an escape mechanism- perhaps even his captor did. 

But there was no humor as of late, and Rex dreaded understanding that it was due to his lack of powers. The scariest thing was the possibility that his personality was mostly based off his nanites. Was he still the sane Rex without them?

Who was he, really?

OOF.

Rex bumped into a familiar brunette figure and stumbled backwards, nearly landing flat on his butt. The woman lost her balance as well, smacking against the wall behind her. She let out a little yelp and slipped to the floor, utterly startled. 

"Rex!" she yelled, rubbing her sore back. "What's wrong with you? Don't run so fast."

Rex shook his head, grateful for the intrusion into his depressing train of thought. "Sorry, I'm just not feeling good. At all. I need to- WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Sitting before him was the stunning figure of Rebecca Holiday- slightly frazzled, but otherwise fine. Hints of worry shone in her jade eyes, spreading throughout her facial expression. 

Rex was at a loss for words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the Mindfuck ;)


	12. What do you mean?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don’t trust my writing style :)

"Rex, you know better than to use language like that," Holiday scolded him- though, the energy clearly wasn't in her voice. "But forget that. I'm just so, so glad you recognize me. I...need a moment."

Rex realized that very second that he'd stopped breathing for a moment, due to the sudden feeling of construction in his lungs. He inhaled deeply, then held a hand over his chest, still in shock.

"I- I thought you were dead!" Rex sputtered, more grateful than ever that he finally found someone that cared about him. "The big flash of light killed everybody, and I'm just-"

"That never happened."

Rex stared at the woman before him, utterly confused. He'd seen the whole thing- the building crashing down, her voice lost on the intercom, the blood everywhere. Was Holiday damaged from a blow to her head during the disaster?

And how did she even end up in Abysus anyway?

"Doc," Rex mumbled, "You're not making any sense."

Holiday stood up, brushed dust off her clothes, and extended a hand to him to help him up. "Listen to me, Rex. You had a nanite-induced nightmare. For some reason, you didn't snap out of it."

Rex helped himself up, but despite his now stable balance, his mind was reeling. 

"Look," the brunette began, brushing a hand gently through his dark hair. "I know this is confusing, and we've all been worried about you. You have no idea how glad I am that you're finally showing some signs of decent consciousness. But you need to understand what really happened to you."

The tall woman pulled his hand and walked with him through the halls, keeping a careful eye on the boy. Rex had never seen this level of concern in her facial expression- except back when her younger sister was still an Incurable. 

"I don't get a single thing you're saying, Doc," the teen explained. "We're not at Providence. It collapsed!"

"No it didn't," Holiday denied, her pace slightly faster. "What you thought was real was actually the effects of a deep sleep we put you in. During a routine nanite offload, you were given some knockout gas, a bed to lie down on, and you fell asleep like you were supposed to."

"But the bright light-"

"One of the ceiling lights above you flickered for a moment, then burst. It was just a minor annoyance, and judging from the way you keep referring back to it, it was probably the last thing you saw before you were fully unconscious."

Rex stared at the floor in confusion, then back at his maternal figure. "I'm still lost. What happened after?"

Holiday sighed. "Rex, something... unusual happened with your nanites. Even when you weren't awake, you started thrashing around and mumbling things. Strange signals emanated from your body- your biometrics were going haywire."

"That sounds pretty bad," the teen remarked. "Did you fix it? Because I'm still in Abysus."

"We tried, but you weren't responding. Think of it as nanite induced sleepwalking, since you actually began to move around as well. And then-"

Holiday vanished.

Rex's jaw dropped, and he gripped the air where his companion had just been. The woman dissipated into thin air- not like a computer glitch, not in a puff of smoke, but wiped blank out of existence. Frantically, the boy began to run in circles around the area Holiday had disappeared in, trying to find something in the air to indicate where her presence was. 

A tug, a pull, a push.

Nothing.

"Doc!" Rex yelled, slamming his fists against a wall. "Where are you! DOCTOR HOLIDAY! ANSWER ME-

"Rex!"

The teen spun around to find his captor standing across the room, watching him. Van Kleiss seemed annoyed, but confused as well. Rex scowled and continued grabbing air like a madman.

"What did you do to her?" the boy yelled, arms flailing to reach as much space as possible. "Give her back!"

Biowulf strode in, his curiosity piqued by the loudness, and thought it quite strange to see boy to wave his arms around like a startled chicken.

The king cocked a brow. "I have done nothing with any such doctor. Providence collapsed, and most, of not all, of the people inside died. Are you hallucinating?"

Rex paused, his arms suspended in the air. Though he didn't really want to think about the possibility at all, he had to admit his experience was bizarre and completely out of place. Where was the logic in bumping into Holiday in the middle of the castle? How could she have possibly gone undetected? And if she was here, where were the others? How did she escape the rubble? Why did she look perfectly fine?

Rex shook his head, trying to clear the intrusive thoughts from his head. He couldn't accept Van Kleiss's words so quickly- or at all, really.

Holiday spoke the way she normally did- hopefully ruling out the possibility of a shapeshifter- and the concern on her face was crystal clear. The nanite offload story made sense- it was something he did on occasion, after all. Knockout gas could do pretty strange things, and with nanites added to the mix, it could make for a bizarre story. It's not as if he'd never had visions caused by his machines before. They're what had brought him to Cesar, after all. From a broader perspective, Holiday's words filled in details quite lightly. 

Didn't they?

"You're taking much too long to answer me, Rex," Van Kleiss said, interrupting his thoughts. "Practice some punctuality in your life, however minute your effort may be."

Rex stared at him, and frowned. 

"I- I'm just- doing something," the boy explained weakly, unwilling to divulge his true thoughts. "Reliving a memory."

"You are by far the worst liar I've ever met."

Rex bit his lip and stared at the wall, unsure of how to escape this situation. "Can't you just drop it? I'm fine. Go away."

"You were screaming like you'd seen a ghost. I stepped inside and found you throwing a tantrum. You're taking a year long break before responding to me. You are most certainly not fine."

"Like you give a crap."

"I expected your stubbornness," the king informed him. "I'm going to let it go for now, for two reasons. First, you haven't damaged yourself or anything- yet. Second, I came here to tell you that tomorrow, you're going to make yourself quite useful to me. For now, if you can manage to keep your head on straight, I'll allow Biowulf to escort you to your room."

Rex glanced up at the older EVO, surprised. "What? A room? When did that happen?"

"There are many rooms in this castle, and I've had a bed put in for you. It's late, and you need to fall asleep naturally instead of being drugged to unconsciousness. Perhaps that's what's affecting your mindset."

Rex scoffed. "I'm not crazy! Or sleep deprived. I'm just thinking about stuff!"

"I don't care. Biowulf?"

The mechanical EVO sauntered forward, grabbed a hold of the boy's arm, and began leading him out of the hall. Rex groaned but obeyed, seeing no choice to do otherwise. They walked through the halls, up a few floors, and eventually reached a medium sized room at the end of a hall nearly covered in decorative vines. Biowulf opened the door and pushed Rex inside, then followed suit.

The room wasn't as bad as Rex thought it would be. It was medium sized, much like his room back at the Base, and there was a large window cut into the stone on the opposite wall. An average sized bed lied in the corner, covered in dull, but clean blue sheets. The boy sat down on it and surprised himself by yawning- apparently, he might have been more sleep deprived than he'd thought.

"At least it's not a slab of stone," Rex remarked, digging his fingers into the mattress. "But do you really think you'll be able to keep me in here? I'll find a way to escape."

Biowulf snorted. "If you keep avoiding sleep, you're only hurting yourself. Best way to drive yourself insane."

Rex huffed, then threw himself backwards into the bed. "Fuck you, mutt. This whole place is insane. I'd fit right in. You don't need to tell me what I don't already know."

"It doesn't sound like you do."

"Get out."

The blue EVO shrugged and left the room, shutting the door tightly behind him. Rex buried his face into a pillow and sighed, hoping Van Kleiss wasn't right about how dangerous nightly rumination could possibly be. He stretched his legs and yawned, wondering just what exactly his captor's plans for him would be tomorrow. Hopefully they wouldn't involve ripping the skin off his body.

And for the first time in two days, despite the thoughts swirling around in his head, he fell into a quiet, peaceful slumber.


	13. Meat Me Halfway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t trust me ;)

Green slime.

Rex picked at his plate as he chewed the vegetables that had been forced upon him by the orders of a tyrant. His fork scratched the metal surface and twirled around any pieces of food it found, squishing into them as if they were EVO carcasses. He'd almost finished his entire breakfast, but the lack of even a smidge of greasy meat made him gloomy.

Why do all the bad foods have to taste so good?

A few moments later, the teen swallowed his last bite, feeling the soft green material slide down his throat. He took a sip of water from a cup near the plate as well- thankfully, this time it wasn't drugged- and twirled it around in thought, heading the water splash against the sides of it. 

Useful.

Rex frowned. Besides being sent on missions, what could Van Kleiss possibly have meant by wanting him to be more useful? Ever since Biowulf had woken him up late that morning- most likely due to the king acknowledging he needed plenty of real sleep- he'd been wondering about what kind of plans would require him. The boy was human, vulnerable, and would probably be instantly knocked unconscious from a simple punch. 

It was a truth more bitter than the taste that still lingered in his mouth.

His thoughts were cut short when he heard a pair of heavy boots stride into the room, blatant confidence- no, arrogance- heard in every step. Rex let out a small huff and scratched his neck before glancing up at his captor. The king's eyes were much brighter than his own, as if the man never needed sleep at all. Meanwhile, Rex's still remained dull with sleepiness, as the vegetables didn't give him the energy he'd hoped for.

"I'm glad to see you finished it," the older EVO remarked. "Perhaps you do have the capacity for obedience after all."

Rex mustered just enough energy to roll his eyes. "It tasted like swamp muck."

"It doesn't matter. It's far healthier than anything else you've eaten, I guarantee it."

Rex sighed and rested his cheek on his palm, his head lazily drooping sideways. The king watched him for a moment, and decided to indulge the boy just a tiny bit so as to not let him spiral into some sort of fit. 

"If it helps," Van Kleiss began, "I'm not forcing you into vegetarianism. You'll be given meat, but only as much as your body actually needs. Unless you're actively exercising and requiring much more protein, that amount is much less than you think."

"But aren't you gonna make me do fighting and stuff?" Rex asked, feeling even gloomier. "Or are you trying to keep me weak so I can't escape? Because I'm still too smart for that."

The older EVO chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm not going to have you fight until you're more trustworthy. And no, you aren't smart enough to escape me. You never were."

Rex, suddenly feeling more awake, lifted his head and cocked a brow. "Um, no. That's bull. I've gotten away from you a ton of times. Who's the amnesiac here, you or me?"

"It's you, Rex, given the fact that you don't remember that you only escaped due to Providence's or Breach's loathsome assistance, as opposed to your supposed sole effort."

Rex blinked at the man's words, and couldn't find a way to respond. Were the mind games really starting to sink in and affect him? 

He blamed it on the lack of meat.

"At any rate," Van Kleiss continued," That's not important for the moment. You're going to prove that you have worth even in your human form by coming with me. It's your choice to hesitate, but if you do so, you will be swiftly punished."

Rex leaned back in his chair and let out a dramatic groan before standing up and joining the man- though, he made sure to keep a safe distance away. He didn't want to be suddenly decapitated, after all. The boy followed his captor through the large stone halls of the castle, finding it unnerving when they began to descend into lower floors. As they traveled through areas the teen wasn't quite familiar with, Rex began to feel sudden chills caress his spine. He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered as they neared their destination.

"Do you keep an ice skating rink down here?" Rex asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "I'm freezing! What are you gonna do, preserve me for centuries?"

"Your mind wanders strange places," Van Kleiss remarked. "I do realize how cold it is down here. I keep it that way. It's perfect for our experiment."

Rex stopped in his tracks. "What? No! You're not sticking your needle fingers into me! I'm not gonna get killed down here!"

"What did I say about hesitation, Rex?"

"I don't want to die!" the boy cried out. "I haven't even done anything to you! You're so-"

The older EVO extended his gauntlet and grabbed Rex's arm, dragging him alongside him as he made his way forward.

"You are not going to die," the man informed him. "You need to let go of those thoughts. They're most likely the main cause of your strange mental decline. This is a harmless experiment, and you'll be just fine."

"I can't fight an EVO or test out weapons!" the boy argued, feeling a familiar panic begin to affect his heartbeats. "I literally can't! It's gonna kill me in two seconds flat!"

"Rex. The entire time, all you have to do is sit down."

The teen ceased his struggling for a moment, stunned by the revelation. The cruelest dictator he knew merely wanted him to just... sit down? No savagely beating EVOs? No testing weapons on himself? No needle finger piercings?

What kind of an experiment was this?

"What are you talking about?" Rex asked, feeling himself become even colder as they approached a room at the end of the hall. It seemed to be a lab of some sort, with two sides separated by a thick glass wall. "You're not gonna make me fight to the death? You just want me to sit down and shut up?"

"You don't necessarily have to be quiet," the king answered the boy, directing him to sit on a nearby chair. "This is an extremely small experiment, and will hardly, if at all, affect you in the long run. I'm going to explain a few things beforehand, and you just need to follow directions. Be obedient."

Rex planted his butt on the chair and rubbed his arms and sides, shivering harder than before. "As if I have a choice. Hurry up. I'm turning into ice."

Van Kleiss smirked before turning around and walking to a nearby lab counter, picking up a clear, medium sized tube filled with a dark substance.

"As you know," the man began, "I am dedicated towards the existence of nanites. Providence is against scientific advancement, squashing scientific discoveries at the blink of an eye. I, however, do the opposite. In fact, I do not just live with nanites, but rather, I wish to improve them."

Rex stared at him with wide eyes. "You...you didn't actually... oh my god."

"I am in the process of creating new nanites, yes. Advancement is my top priority. For now, the nanites I have made aren't like the ones that spread across the Earth in the explosion. They have very specific functions, and are unable to match the original ones."

"The Nanite Event wrecked the planet, and you're trying to make another one? What the fuck is wrong with you? You're gonna kill-"

Rex's tirade ended with a sharp kick to his shin, causing him yell and bend over in pain. If this really was just a nanite dream like Holiday said, it sure felt real. 

"Language, Rex," the king lightly scolded him, though full well expecting that sort of reaction. "You're blowing my words out of porportion. I do not intend to create a massive explosion- though, I might give that idea some thought later- but rather, I wish to gradually introduce these nanites to the world."

"This just keeps getting worse and worse," the boy muttered. "Alpha nanites, Omega, what else?"

"I call them Beta nanites, seeing as how they serve only to assist in small tasks. Each batch I've made only has one specific function, and are easily rid of by the host's body. The current prototypes are not made to last longer than a week- at most. You are going to prove yourself useful by testing a sample for me."

Rex glared at the man. "I have the regular ones, and the Omega. You're gonna fu- mess up my biometrics!"

The teen's captor shook his head. "They're weak, and are most likely not able to interact with your own nanites. My theory is that your system won't recognize them at all, in fact, since their structure is different. Your Omega will probably ignore them altogether."

"But you don't know that!"

"That's why you're going to test them for me."

Rex shivered and watched miserably as the man filled a small syringe with the dark matter inside the clear tube, and curled his toes in fear when he watched the needle portion placed on the end. He could run, of course, but did he want to risk the punishment? Then again, did the punishment matter if none of it was real anyway? 

Or perhaps there was some truth to the tale of what happens when one dies in their sleep...

"Take off that jacket and extend your arm for me," Van Kleiss ordered him, steadying the syringe with his fingers. "Yes, you're going to be very cold. But you'll see why."

Rex froze at the sight of the needle so close to him, but quickly shook away the thoughts that bounded into his head and did as he was told. The threat of a punishment was too great for him to bear at the moment, as he was still human, and he supposed that for once in his life, he'd have to trust the man. 

The very thought was enough to sew deeper seeds of fear.

The needle felt even colder than the air as it pierced his skin, and he watched with a sinking feeling as the Beta Nanites slowly entered his body. The older EVO then patched up the hole with a small bandage to prevent blood leakage after removing the needle, and pulled the boy up.

"Go sit on the other side of the glass for observation," the king commanded him. "You'll still be able to hear me, and vice versa. There's a small examination table for you to rest on. You don't necessarily need to lie down."

Rex grimaced and followed directions, opening up a door to enter the other half of the room.

Paradise.

That was the first thought that entered the teen's mind as he felt a blast of freezing air hit him like a raging blizzard, making him realize that the room was at least ten times as cold as the first half of the room. He felt his captor push him in quickly to prevent the air from escaping, and shivered violently as he struggled to reach the metal bed a few feet away.

"Th-this is insane!" Rex whined, his teeth chattering as he climbed into the metal frame. It felt like sitting on a block of pure ice. "I c-can't feel m-my skin!"

"It's negative ten degrees Fahrenheit, and negative twenty three point three degrees Celsius, approximately," his captor informed him. "Bear with it. I know you've faced far worse."

"Wha-what do you want-t me to d-do here?"

"Talk to me, if you wish. It should prove to be a merciful distraction."

Rex snorted. Mercy. As if the man knew of any such thing.

"Okay," Rex responded, huddling his legs closer to torso, "Here's a c-crazy question for ya. Are you r-real?"

Van Kleiss cocked a brow, slightly thrown off by the statement. "I am as real as you are, Rex. However, if you're referring to intentions, I-"

"D-doubt it," the boy interrupted. "You need t-to prove it. Wh-who was our enemy in the s-sandstorm that tried to m-melt us?"

"ZAG-RS." the king answered, tapping his fingers on the counter in thought. The possibility of a further decline of mental stability slowly occurred to him. "We both know that."

"Or m-maybe you're just my night-nightmare," the boy insisted, echoing Holiday's words. "You're not wh-what you th-think you are."


	14. Chapter 14

Van Kleiss gave the boy a half grin. "If anyone has identity issues, it's you. You can't even recall the majority of your life without someone filling in the details for you. Details, as you know, that I happen to be well acquainted with."

"Th-that's not what I m-mean," the boy denied, shaking his head and shivering even more. "You don't have th-thoughts, feelings, an-anything!"

"You're rambling," the king remarked, his grin giving way to an expression of clear concern. "Is the cold getting to you that much?"

"No! Y-you're not real! None of th-this is!"

The older EVO watched the teen shiver, now fully immersed in his own thoughts. What was the boy taking about? Why was he acting sane one minute, and a raving lunatic the next? But most importantly, there was something quite familiar about the whole ordeal. The man had dealt with his fair share of lunacy from strange people in his lifetime, but this particular brand seemed like an echo. It was almost the exact ideals-

Breach.

Van Kleiss let out a small groan. "Rex, for your sake and mine, please don't associate with our resident dollkeeper. She's a terrible influence on you in your particular situation. You're starting to sound just like her."

"This has n-nothing to do with h-her," Rex insisted. "Everyone here's c-crazy. You, B-Biowulf, Breach, Carrie-"

"Carrie?"

The boy shivered some more, though it wasn't as intense as before. "The chick you have w-working for you in the-the graveyard. Your s-stupid "Peace." 

The king furrowed his brows, realizing that Rex had been wandering his castle in more places than he had thought. Peace was his small, private sanctuary, and he hoped the boy hadn't ruined the scenery. Those gravestones weren't easy to maintain, after all.

Besides, the graveyard held dangers that were far too dangerous for most EVOs.

"Although I never forbade you from entering there, you  shouldn't have gone," the man explained. "Don't do it again. Unless you're a certain kind of EVO, it's not safe."

"Y-you and the Gravekeeper?”

"Rex. I am the only gravekeeper in Peace. There is no one else there to watch over the corpses."

Rex balked at his words, utterly confused- and hating the fact that the feeling was becoming much more common than her care for. What did the tyrant mean by being the only caretaker? What happened to the oddball blonde?

Perhaps the king exuded levels of arrogance so high, he forgot about his lesser workers entirely.

"Whatever," the boy said. "I also think I know h-how you get the money for all this experiment junk. You're a d-drug dealer!"

Van Kleiss's grin returned, stronger than before. "How could you ever have come to that conclusion? Do explain."

"Yo-you grow weed like crazy or something, since you create plants, and you s-sell pounds by the thousands. You probably have a ton of acres f-for it!"

"It's amusing how your mind automatically veers towards the possibility of drugs, Rex. Judging from that, you might have some personal experience with them yourself, don't you?"

The boy stared at his captor, taken aback by his accusations thrown right back at him. "I- no- it doesn't matter-"

"No, of course it doesn't matter with you, Rex," the older EVO sarcastically replied, turning on a machine to scan the boy's biometrics. "You're on the side of justice, so everything wrong you might do should just be ignored. But I, on the other hand, should be judged severely for anything at all. Don't you think?"

Rex frowned, and shifted his legs uncomfortably. "That's not what I said."

"It's how you act."

Van Kleiss analyzed the nanite readings, and though they were a little unstable, he was quite satisfied with them for the most part. The Beta Nanites, at their most dangerous, caused internal damage- at least, that was the hypothesis. Rex showed no signs of pain, however- and insofar, the experiment was working quite well.

"Am- am I gonna get some hot tea after this or something?" Rex asked, interrupting the man's thoughts. "It's crazy cold, and you haven't even started the experiment thing!"

"I have, Rex," the older EVO revealed. "Keep talking to forget the temperature."

"Fine. Wh-who do you have buried under the castle?"

The king shook his head. "That's a more private matter, unfortunately for you. You don't need to know who they are. And let me reiterate, do not go down there again."

"Ugh," the boy groaned. "I hate your rules. Isn't there s-some code of ethics you're breaking? Why isn't the law jailing y-you?"

Van Kleiss rolled his eyes, though more out of amusement than anything. "This is my country. I create the rules. In general, if you're not an unintelligent EVO, you must submit to me. It's all quite legal."

"Wait, what?" Rex responded, his heart sinking to his stomach. "So, if you- if you kill me, it's...legal?"

The teen bent over as sickly sensations permeated through his abdomen, feeling as if he'd throw up. Not only was he trapped helpless against his will, but the whole thing was to be accepted without hesitation? Would no one come save him? Would the entire world merely ignore him?

If Providence was gone, who would remember him?

The king watched in alarm as he recognized the precursor signs of vomiting. "Rex! Do not ruin my floor! Sit up straight. I'm not going to kill you, for the thousandth time. Control yourself!"

Rex remained bent over and covered his mouth with his hand, horrified at the prospect of being torn to shreds at the blink of an eye. He ignored his captor's orders and shifted his legs to make way for an eventual stream of vomit, unwilling to soil his clothes as well. The humiliation was horrid enough already.

"Rex Salazar! Don't you even think about making a mess! You're almost done with this experiment, so take care to not ruin it! Sit up straight and breathe. I promise that you'll be fine."

Rex paused, and lifted his head a few inches to face the man behind the glass. "Why should I trust you?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Van Kleiss watched gratefully as the boy became distracted by his words. Rex stared at him in deep thought, not realizing he'd just been wrestled out of his nausea.

"A bunch of times," the teen responded after a while. "Too many to count."

"I have never lied to you," the king denied. "I have only omitted information. You don't need to know everything, so it stands to reason. But for now, I'm telling you that you won't end up impaled by an EVO if I do not wish it. Calm down."

The boy took a moment to let the words sink in, and stood up straight again. "You're really messing with my mind. I...don't do that. At all. I never get scared like that! You're going to drive me insane!"

"You're going to face therapy. I've made up my mind. The only person who is driving you mad is you alone. Don't blame others for a lack of control over your emotions."

"I never do that. You're the cause!"

Van Kleiss muttered something about nagging children and scanned Rex's biometrics again, hoping the experiment hadn't been tampered with. The levels of nausea and anxiety hadn't influenced the Beta Nanites by much, so the teen hadn't quite managed to sabotage his efforts. Still, there was something to be said for hormonal influences on nanite function. The king realized it was a weakness he had yet to strengthen- he always kept a steady head, so the problem was quite foreign to him.

He'd have to look into that.

"Are we done yet?" Rex asked, interrupting the man's examination. "Nothing's going on, and I've got better things to do. Like finding an escape route."

"For now, you're done," the older EVO agreed, saving the electronic results and shutting the nanite monitor off. "How do you feel?"

"Alive. Because you didn't do anything."

"Are you cold?"

Rex raised a brow at the question, then realized something strange. His teeth had stopped chattering a while ago, and he wasn't quite shivering anymore. He couldn't feel the cold blast that had lashed at his face when he had entered the chamber, and it didn't feel like an arctic blizzard anymore.

He felt...normal.

"Get off the bed and go check the temperature of the room," Van Kleiss ordered the boy, pointing to the corner of the room. "Tell me what it says."

Rex gave the man a weird look before hopping off the examination table and making his way towards the indicated direction. A small thermostat displayed the temperature of the room in small green letters, displaying a number that startled the teen completely.

"It's- it's still negative ten," Rex stuttered. "Que-wha?"

"You may thank the Beta Nanites that you're not dying of hypothermia," the king responded, entertained by the boy's reaction. "It's just as cold as it was when you first entered-I can feel the chill breezes from here, in fact- but they spread throughout your body and warmed you up. This particular batch's sole function is to heat up their host."

The teen stared, dumbfounded. "What...how? Wait! This particular batch? There's more?"

"Yes, and they have their own special functions. These can be tweaked even more as well, to allow withstanding even colder temperatures, or prevent side effects such as burning internal organs."

The boy instantly gripped his stomach. "GET THEM OUT!"

"You pass them out naturally. Stop worrying."

"You sick piece of-"

The boy's words were quickly cut off when he spied something in the corner of his eye.

A flash of green.


	15. Best Ninja Dissappearance Ever

Rex ran forward and pressed his face against the glass, trying to catch a glimpse of the bright color again. Van Kleiss watched him stare at the exit, perplexed. He glanced towards the direction the boy was so fixated upon, expecting to find some wayward EVO that might have startled the boy.

Nothing.

"What's come over you?" the king asked, tapping the glass right in front of Rex's eyes. "You're not in some gas chamber, if that's what you're worried about. Act normally."

The teen made a face at him, the scooted towards the other side of the wall where the door was. "Let me out. Now."

"I assure you, the Beta Nanites aren't going to kill you," the older EVO informed him. "Those side effects I mentioned have a very low chance of occurring."

"I don't care about your bullcrap nanites. Let me go!"

Van Kleiss shook his head. "You're not running away. You still have work to do."

Rex's fixation seemed to suddenly drop for a moment.

"What?" the boy asked incredulously. "I just did one of your stupid experiments! Let me take a break before you use me like some slave!"

"A break for what?"

"JUST LET ME OUT FOR A BIT!"

The king narrowed his eyes at him, but nonetheless, walked over to unlock the door. He released the child, but before the boy could do anything else, he grabbed Rex by the shoulder firmly.

"Do whatever it is you need to do." the older EVO said, his metal fingers digging into the teen's skin. "But go to my throne room immediately after. I'll be there to give you your next assignment."

Rex huffed and nodded before yanking himself away from his captor's grip and speeding down the halls. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt more energized after the plate full of vegetables. The fuel helped him bound down the stone corridors and twist and turn with much less fatigue than before. The boy desperately wished his hunch was correct, and that his efforts wouldn't be a waste. He only had so much time to escape before he went mad, after all.

After a few more minutes of intense exercise, Rex stopped in his tracks.

Standing next to the entrance of the Garden was a familiar green ninja, dark shades and all.

Rex felt as if his heart exploded.

"Six!" the teen exclaimed, rushing to greet the man. "Oh my god! Six! I'm over here! Look!"

Agent Six turned to face the boy that ran towards him, cocking a brow. "You're awake again."

Rex launched himself into a quick hug, gripping the man's unorthodox suit, then pulled back to face him. "I've been awake! You should've seen what's been going on! Did Doc tell you? And why are you staring at the Garden? I was in the other room!"

Six turned to face the mentioned chamber, the turned back to the boy. "Holiday informed me of the basics about you being in a nanite trance. And this isn't a garden, it's the Petting Zoo."

The child's cheery smile faltered for a moment. "Wait, what are you talking about? I'm looking at it right now. That's not the Petting Zoo."

"Rex," the agent began, "Providence doesn't have a garden. Just the Zoo. Holiday... told me you were still hallucinating."

"You mean, I'm still at Providence?"

"You've been wandering around the halls talking to absolutely no one, and all the guards do is just stare. Sometimes, like right this moment, you're somehow able to see us again. Most of the time, however, you seem to be speaking to imaginary people."

Rex's eyes widened in shock, and he quickly glanced around the hallways. "I-I thought I was in Abysus this whole time! Providence crashed and burned. How am I able to see you right now if I couldn't before? And where are all the other soldiers?"

"You're nowhere near Abysus, though that does explain what Holiday meant about the nightmares," Six continued. "She suspects that your nanite trance is glitching, and that's why you pop into reality from time to time. She hasn't fully figured it out yet. As for some of the soldiers, they're standing all around the room."

"Where?" 

"They're lining the walls. Some of them are staring at us."

Rex trailed his eyes across the stone corridors, squinting to see if any soldiers appeared out of nowhere. It was utterly bizarre. If he was actually inside the Base, he wouldn't be able to have figured it out on his own. His surroundings still made it clear that he was at Abysus- but then again, it wasn't supposed to be real. He was just walking around in a daze because his machines decided to go haywire on his brain. 

Wasn't he?

The teen sighed in frustration, seeing no one but himself and the green Agent.

"Six, I can't see anyone," Rex griped. "It's just you and- HEY!"

Rex watched in horror as Six disappeared into thin air just like Holiday had done earlier, and grabbed at the air where the man once stood. Then, he paused, trying to steady his quickening heart rate. 

If he was at Providence, then there was nothing to worry about.

Right?

It was all so confusing. One one hand, the Base was destroyed and he was trapped helplessly in Abysus, at the mercy of a man who miraculously hadn't slaughtered him yet. But at the same time, he was merely let loose to wander the halls of Providence so he could snap out of his walking nightmare. If the former was true, then Six was never there in the first place, but it wouldn't explain his accurate mannerisms and the physical feeling of hugging him. 

But if the latter was his reality, then technically, he was still perfectly safe, and just needed to realize that Holiday would eventually find a way to pull him out of it completely- and that would also mean that the Beta Nanites and the freezing room were just sensations from real life that snuck into his dream. Though, it wouldn't explain the accuracy of Van Kleiss's character, and the energy he felt from eating the nasty green glop.

Each reality overlapped, yet denied the others' existence altogether.

Rex groaned and began to make his way down the hall, aiming to reach the throne room for his next task. Confusion seemed to throw ideas into his frazzled mind one second, and then absorb them as if they never happened the very next. He supposed it was how Breach felt- though, he didn't really want to think about her perspective in respect to his. If her warped ideals turned out to be true, the boy decided he might as well scoop his brains out through his nose and bury them deep underground.

It was much to handle at the moment. 

Ten minutes later, Rex entered the throne room, finding Van Kleiss sitting front and center. The regal aura surrounding the man was quite obnoxious to the boy, considering how he truly felt about his captor. Nonetheless, he trudged forward, his body language signifying as much disgust as it could possibly show.

"Let me guess- now you wanna inject me with your fingers?" Rex asked sarcastically. "I'm getting flashbacks to when I didn't know you were a total di-"

“No one is going to inject you with anything unless I say so," the king cut him off, completely aware of what word would have come next. "You're going to perform some labor for me. It's not too much for your frame to handle, as you've surely received plain physical training as well. Haven't you?"

"Duh."

"Good. You're going to assist in a small business I run."

Moments later, Rex found himself standing next to his captor inside a large room filled with boxes. 

Boxes, boxes, boxes. 

They were stacked high in the air, taking up at least half the walking space available. They came in all sorts of colors- though, only the dull kind- and were placed in every which way imaginable. Some were covered in wet stains and smelled, while others appeared nice and clean. Aside from the sea of heavy duty cardboard, a table lied in the corner of the room, decorated with only a single lamplight.

"What's going on?" the teen asked, bewildered. It looked like something from a shipping factory, not a psychopath's castle. "Where'd you get all this stuff?"

The older EVO pulled the boy towards the direction of the small desk, and reached inside a drawer to pull out a small stamp and an ink pad. He then handed them to Rex, and pushed him towards the direction of the stacks of packages.

"These are shipped out to my customers," the man explained. "I want these boxes stamped for approval- they're not actually approved of anything they ask for, but that hardly matters to me- and loaded into the trucks in the next rooms over."

Rex stared at the man. "You keep trucks in rooms by themselves?"

"Breach teleports them to areas where one will be able to drive them, and no one is going to drive a truck through my castle halls- that includes you. The boxes are marked with specific numbers, and they will tell you which vehicle to load them into."

Rex tried pushing one of the boxes with his foot, and failed at the first two tries. He then tried picking it up, and with a few heavy breaths, managed to lift it. It certainly wasn't easy, however. His muscles began to feel the sting of exertion faster than he'd thought.

"These are crazy heavy!" the teen complained, putting it back down. "Are you selling guns? Cocaine? LSD? PCP? EVO eggs?"

"Your imagination is working overtime, Rex."


	16. Chapter 16

Rex groaned, wanting nothing more than to fall to the ground and into a deep sleep.

It had taken him hours to load the boxes into the trucks. Each one made his arms sting- though before his captor had left, he'd assured the boy that it was merely muscle training. Rex begged to differ- it was torture, plain and simple. His legs ached, his fingers buzzed from prying the heavier ones off the ground, and he was sweaty all over. If the plan was to make the teen as tired as possible, it worked.

For a situation that wasn't supposed to be real, it certainly felt like it.

Rex sighed and collapsed onto a nearby pile of of boxes, allowing his strained back a well deserved rest. The packages were left over due to the lack of extra room in the trucks, so they would stay until the next round came- whenever that was. Compared to the cold hard ground, they were welcome furniture. The teen never thought cardboard would would be so comforting.

He never even realized he'd passed out until he felt a hand squeezing his shoulder.

"You've really knocked yourself out, haven't you?" a painfully familiar voice spoke, rousing the boy from his sleep. "At least you've completed your task. But don't sleep here."

Rex saw the tyrant's figure standing above him, and scooted his body as far away as possible-

Until he fell on the floor. 

Van Kleiss raised a brow. "What, were you expecting murder? You're quite paranoid."

"I'd expect nothing less from you," Rex muttered, stifling a yawn. The king saw right through the stubborn demeanor, knowing that the boy was still extremely sleepy- too sleepy to think straight, in fact. 

"You know, you never learned what exactly I shipped to my clients," the older EVO began. "If you like, I could tell you. You obeyed my orders, after all."

"Dead babies."

"Rex."

The teen let out a loud yawn and stood up wobbly, failing to shake off his fatigue. "Fine, hurry up. They're probably mini nuclear bombs."

The king shook his head, grinning in amusement. "Why don't you open up a box? Carefully. So you realize what you've helped me send to the affluent countries of the world."

"What, they're that important?" the boy mumbled, kneeling down to pry the tape off the closest one. "Are you smuggling diamonds? Gold? Rabid snakes?"

"There's no such thing."

Rex peeled off the tape from both sides, lifted the kids, and grimaced as an earthy scent wafted into his nostrils. He closed the box for a second, scooted backwards, the opened it up again to avoid the smell. Inside lied a giant, clear plastic bag full of a lumpy brown substance. The boy hesitantly pushed his finger against the plastic, feeling the softness of the material underneath.

"What is that?" Rex asked, staring at the dark contents. "It just looks like dirt."

"Nanite infused dirt, to be specific. Tell me, Rex. Do you remember the little stunt you pulled at the UN?"

Rex glanced up at the man, frowning at first, then smiling at the memory. "Yeah. You lost to a sewer. Says a lot about you."

"This time, that won't be an issue," Van Kleiss replied. "People are buying this soil for crop fields, and are planting them far away from any such sewer. They'll be completely unaware of what they're feeding their plants and family with, and soon, I might just control the sole food supplies for nations across the world."

Rex took a moment to process the horrifying words, staring up at the man in shock. His heart began to race as he felt goosebumps creep across his skin, reflecting his physical response to the damning plans. It didn't help that the man could easily overpower him any moment that he wanted to, either. Nausea began to settle in as well, his body's only current method of retaliation.

"WHAT?" the teen shouted in pure shock- an expression the older EVO found to his liking. "YOU- NO- OH MY GOD-"

"How does it feel knowing that you assisted in this, Rex? How will you explain yourself when people realize it's you who sent them the boxes?"

Rex leaned down and dug his fingers into his dark hair, not caring if they were filthy. "I'm going to- oh no- I can't BELIEVE- you should have stopped the first time- SEWERS-"

"There aren't any sewers now," the king cut him off. "Just people willing to pay mass amounts of money for soil that exponentially increases their crops. It's too bad for them that the plants will be under my control- as will their entire cities, eventually."

Rex leaned over the edge of the box, trying to think of a way to ruin the man's agenda- as well as avoiding puking all over the packaging as well. He couldn't just take the soil back- he wouldn't be fast enough, and he couldn't magically reach them after Breach teleported them to the cities. He couldn't even get to the cities either- hell, he couldn't even reach the outside of the castle if he wasn't allowed to. Begging and pleading wouldn't do anything, and he had no mode of communication to contact anyone to warn them.

He'd just helped the man take one step closer to domination. 

"Rex," the boy heard his captor call his name as a pair of hands clasped his own and pulled them away. "You're bleeding."

The teen pulled his hands away from the man and lowered them to his face, realizing it was true. Crimson droplets borne from his agony stained his skin, unknowingly drawn from his veins in his panic. No doubt his scalp was tinged with red as well, due to the unintentionally sharp scratches he'd pierced himself with.

"I don't care!" Rex yelled, rubbing the blood between his fingers right before he dug them into his hair again. "You're ruining me! Blood is the LEAST of my worries. You-"

Suddenly, standing right beside the tyrant's legs, was a familiar furry companion.

With red guns strapped to his sides.

"Bobo!" the boy yelled, quickly removing his fingers from his head and pointing frantically at the king. "SHOOT him! NOW!"

Bobo shook his head. "Doc said you were still hallucinating and junk. D'ya know where you are, Chief?"

"Just SHOOT!"

"Rex, who are you taking to?" Van Kleiss asked, gently nudging the boy's side with his boot. "Look at me."

"The monkey standing right next you!" Rex yelled before turning back to the chimp. "KILL HIM, Bobo!"

Bobo tilted his head. "You really did lose your mind, huh? We're alone in your room and you're just lying on the floor talking to nada. Wait till Noah hears about this!"

"DO YOU NOT SEE VAN KLEISS STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU?" Rex seethed, pointing frantically at the older man. "BLOW HIS BRAINS OUT!"

The king stared at the direction Rex was screaming at, frowning when he saw no one at all. He leaned down to hoist the teen up, then grabbed him by his jaw.

"Rex, listen to me," the man began, keeping the boy's eyes locked on himself. "There's no one here except for you and me. You're hallucinating."

Rex peered at the floor, his face reddening in fury when his furry companion didn't obey his commands. "BOBO! What the FUCK are you waiting fo-"

Van Kleiss narrowed his eyes at the teen's language and dropped the boy flat on the ground, unwilling to stay in the dark about the child's thought processes. Rex let out a yelp as he hit the ground, feeling jolt of pain run up his spine from the impact.

And just like that, Bobo had vanished.

"NOOO!" Rex screamed, struggling to stand up again. "COME BACK! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Van Kleiss sighed and reached into his coat for a small vial of knockout spray- one kept specifically for jarring incidences like this. He grabbed the shouting teen's head and administered an effective amount of gas, then a just a little more for good measure. Rex gasped and coughed, trying to expel the fumes from his nose and lungs.

It was no use, however. Fatigue quickly began to flood the boy's body, causing his vision to slowly darken.

"It's a shame you couldn't communicate rationally," the king informed him, stuffing the vial back into his inner coat pocket. "But no matter. I'm getting answers from you soon enough."

Rex breathed a few final curses before sinking into the black.


	17. Chapter 17

Leather straps.

Rex woke up groggily, finding himself strapped down to an examination table with thick restraints. The table had been propped up in the back, so at least he was sitting up this time. He coughed and peered around the room, finding himself in a lab- but a different one, this time. The boy wondered just how many niche labs the castle harbored, and frowned at the thought of constantly ending up in them. His expression deepened when he noticed Biowulf standing in the corner of the room, apparently standing guard.

“Hey,” Rex called out to the blue and white EVO. “Where’d the bastard go? Let me out!”

Biowulf turned to the child, and began to walk towards him. He then placed his hands around Rex’s neck and gave a sharp squeeze, leaning his snout close to the boy’s ear.

“Tell me what you saw when you spoke about my human form,” Biowulf growled menacingly. “What do you know?”

“You’re a pasty redhead,” the child sputtered, trying to breathe comfortably with the claws around his throat. “You were in your room or s-something, and you still had your claws!”

“You saw nothing. You will not speak to my master of that ever again. Do you understand me?”

Rex stared incredulously at the wolf-like EVO. “What? Why? D-Didn’t he do that to you?”

“He did not,” the furry EVO hissed, squeezing the boy’s neck even tighter. “I have my own plans, Rex. But if you ruin them for me, I’ll make sure you’re killed before I am.”

Rex choked, trying to free his arms to pry Biowulf off. It was no use, however. The straps held him down as if made for a custom-grade straightjacket, unwilling to budge. The boy tried to pry his head away at the very least, though he knew it was useless. What was he against yet another powerful EVO?

“O-okay!” the teen gave in, hoping he wouldn’t be forced to pass out. “I w-won’t say a word. Let me g-go!”

And with that, the furry EVO released him, allowing the child to take in deep, heavy breaths. Biowulf went right back to the entrance of the room to stand guard, occasionally glancing back at the boy. He hadn’t meant anything but pure intimidation, knowing that if he actually killed the child, he would have his metallic head on a pike. Rex shook his head to release the tension in his neck and moaned, a lone question bouncing around in his head.

Would he stay this weak forever?

Van Kleiss strode into the room, making the boy suddenly tense up. The man sat down on a chair in front of a giant screen at the side of the room, a mere ten feet from the Rex’s bed. The teen let out a deep breath to prepare himself for the mental onslaught his captor would inevitably launch, desperately wishing for someone on his side- at this point, even Noah would suffice.

Anyone.

“Do you feel pain?” the king asked, turning on the screen and typing in a few passwords. “It was a relatively harmless knockout spray.”

“I feel pain from a lot more things than that,” Rex groaned, wishing he had any form of bodily mobility. “Can’t you just free up my arms? It’s the least you could do after taking me out unfairly.”

Van Kleiss motioned for Biowulf to release the child’s arms and torso, but insisted that the boy’s legs remain tethered down. Rex recoiled from the touches like a wounded snake, and wrapped his hands around himself when it was over. 

“Why did you do that?” the teen asked, glaring at the king. “Why did you put me to sleep again? You’re insane!”

“I believe that it’s you that’s losing your mind, really,” the older EVO responded, pushing his chair closer to the boy’s bedside. “You acted bizarrely, conversing with air. I’m going to demand that you be completely honest with me about your thought processes. Why are you acting the way you do?”

Rex made a straight face, unsure if he should reveal information about the hallucinations. It might end up getting him “mercifully euthanized”, after all. The man was an untrustworthy snake, full of deception that could shatter any lie detector machine.

But then again, if Abysus was the hallucination, would it hurt to talk to it? He hadn’t been truly damaged yet, and refused to believe that it was out of mercy. Perhaps it was because he was still in Providence, and his nanites wouldn’t let him see it.

Rex preferred the latter reality.

“I’m not in Abysus,” the child began, staring right into his captor’s reddish eyes. “I’m at Providence. You’re not real, and neither is your mutt over there. For some reason, I’m asleep, and I can’t wake up.”

Van Kleiss narrowed his eyes, picked up an electronic notepad from a nearby table, and began to type things down. “Who’s been telling you these things?”

“Doctor Holiday, Six, and Bobo. My family.”

“They’re dead, Rex.”

Rex flinched. 

“Listen to me,” the king began, “I believe you keep seeing them because you’re unable to grasp the fact that they’re permanently gone. Are you familiar with the stages of grief?”

“Uh, anger, acceptance, and...something else?” the boy guessed. “I think? Doc never gave me a psych class.”

“Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance,” the older EVO listed. “You seem to have a severe form of denial. You can’t wrap your head around the fact that they’ve passed away, and your brain is doing anything it can to experience their company again. You need to let them go.”

Rex scowled. “I’m not doing this on purpose! I don’t ask to see them here! How the hell is it my fault?”

“Control yourself. I’m not saying it’s your fault. I’m merely explaining my hypothesis.”

“I’m not your damn science experiment!”

Van Kleiss raised a brow. “If you can’t restrain your language, I might as well force you back to sleep again. Do you want that?”

The teen shut his mouth. 

The king sighed, and went back to the lab’s screen. He opened up a browser, quickly typed a few search words, then opened up some footage recorded by a news site. He enlarged the video and played it, making sure the volume wasn’t loud enough to blare, but just enough to fully capture the intensity of the scene.

Rex watched in horror as he saw the Base collapse for the second time in his life.

It was just as jarring as he had remembered it. The building crumpled down, crushing hundreds between the walls, creating a bloody mess. Meshes of body parts fell from the massive cracks in the building, raining down like a gory storm of death. The teen was too distracted to hear what the anchorwoman was saying about the event, as he was too inside his own head to hear much of anything. His stomach formed a knot, slowly pushing waves of nausea up his throat. 

Rex leaned forward and closed his eyes, not sure if he could take much more of it. His captor pushed a familiar black bucket towards the child with a knowing look.

“If you’re going to vomit, and I don’t blame you for it, do it in there,” the man said. “If you won’t, then just breathe deep breaths. You need to accept what is real and what isn’t.”

Rex waited for the sounds of the video to be over, his nausea becoming even stronger. Eventually, he caved into his body’s disgust, hurling into the bucket. He held nothing back, unwilling to keep fighting the feeling for days on end. The room was filled with sounds of nothing but heavy retching for a few moments, embarrassing the boy along with making him feel upset again. Throwing up was an uncomfortable release, but a release nonetheless.

Goodbye, rabbit feed.

Van Kleiss ordered Biowulf to remove the bucket from the room and fetch a glass of water, then turned back to the boy. Thankfully, he’d been expecting a strong reaction, knowing the video certainly wasn’t easy to watch. It was censored in many websites, and it had taken him a significant amount of effort to find the original version, in fact. The footage was now being spammed on shock sites around the world.

“It’s about time you let that out,” the man remarked, standing up and pushing the weary boy’s head down onto the bed for Rex’s ease of position. “I know that wasn’t pleasant to watch. But if it snaps you into reality, it’s quite necessary.”

“I don’t ever wanna see that again,” Rex snapped weakly, feeling the acidic taste linger in his mouth. “I was there. I know it happened. Don’t... do that. Seriously.”

Van Kleiss shook his head. “I’ll do what I please. Now. Tell me what you impression you received from the footage.”

Rex buried his face into the pillow beneath him for comfort. “That they’re... gone. I get it. But I still see them, and I don’t normally hallucinate, okay? What if they’re ghosts?”

“Digress,” the king said, rolling his eyes. The last thing he wanted to listen to was paranormal suggestions, but if it helped the boy realize that Abysus was his true home and push away nonsense, so be it. 

“Like, how some people turn into ghosts when they have unfinished business or something,” the boy rambled. “They were trying to find a cure for EVOs, so maybe that was it. Maybe they don’t know they’re dead.”

“That’s all idiocy, Rex. Tell me what your hallucinations said to you. In detail.”

“They said that I fell asleep during a minute offload, and that I’m actually in Providence right now, and that you’re not real. That you’re just a nanite nightmare.”

The older EVO closed his eyes for a moment, taking a moment to sort through the boy’s thoughts. For one, he was going to crush any ideas of ghosts and the like. Science was far more of an explanation for any of these superstitions. Rex was most likely suffering from lingering shock, and nothing else. At least, that’s what he could garner from the scattered bits and pieces of information the boy gave him.

That was his hypothesis...for now.

“Ghosts and floating spirits aren’t real because I know so,” the man said after a while, opening his eyes again. “You’ll thank me for that later. Second, I strongly believe you’re suffering from grief. Strange things tend to happen to a human mind when it’s suffering- like your attachment to your abusers, though that’s another matter- and you’re on the brunt end of it.”

“So what am I supposed to do about it?” Rex whined. “I can’t even tell if you’re real half the time. Who says I should trust you anyway?”

“For now, you should be distracted from you mental issues with more work,” the king suggested. “But tell me, Rex. Besides the fact that your hallucinations are telling you I’m not real, what else makes you believe so?”

Rex frowned, and shifted his arms to cover his chest and neck. “You haven’t killed me. It’s not like you.”

“You don’t know me, then.”

Rex scoffed, but said nothing. 

“I’m going to let you go now,” Van Kleiss said, leaning over the boy to fully undo the leather straps. “Go to your room and sleep. Let me know if you see another hallucination. Remember, they’re false.”

With those final words, he let the boy go. Rex slid off the table, grabbed a glass of water from the furry EVO who had finally returned, and gave his captor one last glance before he left.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do to me, but some things are worse than death,” the teen said quietly. “So.”

The king gave the boy a small grin, understanding the true meaning behind the statement. 

“I couldn’t agree more.”


	18. Chapter 18

Golden sunlight.

Rex awoke to find himself in the early afternoon, rubbing his eyes after what had apparently been a very long rest. He found it odd that he wasn’t ushered out of the room at the wee hours of the morning, but a pang in his heart made him realize he wasn’t at Providence anymore. As strange as it was, he missed the sound of Six ordering him out of his warm bed and into the cold training room. Though the new experience was nice...

The boy wasn’t sure it was something he could get used to.

Rex yawned and stood up, the memories of last night’s conversation bounding into his brain. He didn’t exactly want to trust or believe the man, but strangely enough, he was beginning to be a bit less uncomfortable around him. By some miracle, he hadn’t been killed yet, and wasn’t thrown to sleep in some shoebox of a closet. Make no mistake, the man was on a warpath, but at least didn’t brutalize the teen at whim.

No. Those were stupid thoughts. If anything, it was time for him to lash out against the dictator. 

He would never stop being difficult.

Rex exited his room and walked down the hallway, missing the warmth of the sunlight in his own chamber. It wasn’t a deluxe suite by any means, but it was still better than the rest of the stone cold building. It wasn’t that he wasn’t used to incredibly complex pathways- the Base has plenty of those, after all- but that didn’t mean he didn’t find it irritating. The boy wondered what it was like it live a normal life, where a house was smaller and more compact, keeping a family toge-

He heard a giggle just behind him.

Rex spun around to find a sight he never knew how much he yearned for until he laid eyes on it, completely blown away.

Doctor Holiday was dressed beautifully. She didn’t appear too fancy by any means, but her blue blouse and white skirt- far from her usual attire- fit her figure wonderfully. Her hair was done in her usual elegant bun, but small curly ringlets hung around the edges of her head, outlining her reddening face. Her lips were adorned in a much brighter shade of crimson than usual, and to his shock, she even wore some light green eyeshadow that complemented her bright eyes. 

The teen’s jaw dropped.

“What- huh- wow-“ Rex stuttered before Holiday cut him off with a finger to his lips.

“Look, I’m just as caught off guard as you,” she giggled again, an awkward smile accompanying her blush. “This was Bobo’s idea, trust me.”

What had that monkey done?

“This was his idea?” Rex asked, befuddled. “You look nice, but- but I have no idea what’s going on!”

Holiday gave him a half smile. “I- okay. Listen. Bobo said that we should try harder to get you to snap out of your nanite induced dreams, and that I could do a lot to help. He said maybe...”

Rex tilted his head. “Maybe?”

“Maybe we could go on a... a breakfast date. Just the two of us?”

The boy’s face became as red as hers. It was almost a dream come true. All those times he had asked her to dinner- well, this wasn’t technically dinner, but still- had finally escaped rejection. Imagine, having dinner with the lovely doctor- and in a fancy outfit, no less! He realized he owed Bobo big time for this favor. That monkey could pull miracles.

“Rex, are you coming?”

The teen turned to find that Holiday already on the other side of the hall, waving at him. She yelled back a few more words that he couldn’t really decipher from that distance, but nonetheless, he ran towards her and walked with her to the dining hall. She even let him hook his arm into hers, sending happy tingles up his spine. 

She was a dream amongst the sea of nightmares.

“So,” he began as they entered their destination, “What are we gonna eat? I don’t know how to cook, and- WHOA!”

Rex found himself staring at a full plate of bacon, eggs, and small potatoes. It was far from the gloop that he’d been forced to eat for the past few days, and the smell was something that instantly drove out any trace of sleepiness from him. He immediately sat down at the table and began to dig in, stuffing his face with edible euphoria.

 

“I made it just for us,” Holiday said, sitting down in front of him. “I mean I didn’t cook it, but I had someone else do it. You know I can’t cook.”

Rex nodded and continued eating, not really listening. The eggs were perfectly salted and peppered, and taste of meat overwhelmed his senses, reminding him of the burger he had when-

No.

He didn’t dare think about it.

Rex swallowed and looked up for a moment, seeing Holiday’s pretty face beaming at him. Although it felt like he was in Heaven, something felt strange about this. Normally, she would have something to say about his manners and how to act properly- after all, he was eating like a wild animal just a few seconds ago- and yet, she seemed content. His messy face, littered with bits of food and grease, didn’t seem to phase her at all. 

Maybe she was that just glad he could see her again.

Rex wiped his mouth off with his sleeve, hoping to goad a scolding of some sort. He then burped loudly, making sure to make it sound as rude as possible. He even coughed lightly, and not into his sleeve as the doctor had always insisted. 

Yet she beamed at him continuously, as if nothing had happened.

Rex cocked a brow. “Um...aren’t you gonna eat? Why don’t you have a plate?”

“I ate already. It’s afternoon, anyway. I still wanted you to have some breakfast food, at least.”

“Right, well, it’s really nice,” the boy continued. “I miss this food. Van Kleiss doesn’t let me eat anything that tastes good.”

Holiday frowned, her demeanor changing at the mention of their mutual enemy’s name. “Remember, Rex. The man you’re seeing is not real. It’s just your biometrics still glitching out on us. In fact...”

The woman leaned closer towards the boy, hunching over the table. 

“I have a new theory about him.”

The teen stared at her, watching her reassume a normal sitting position. “Really? What theory?”

“Well, bear with me for a moment,” the doctor commanded, flicking some stray curls to the side. “I don’t believe he’s human, but actually, some sort of computer program gone awry. Like ZAG-RS.”

“What? How?”

“Okay,” Holiday began, “We know he’s been able to regenerate after being cut into literal pieces. And he’s highly connected with the nanites, to a degree we’ve never seen before. You even re-stabilized him after that incidence where he was disintegrated. Yet his “idea” remained- but I suspect that the idea is actually a computer program. He doesn’t seem to have many human emotions, to add to my theory. In fact, if you were really with him, Rex, I doubt you would still be alive.”

Rex nodded. He couldn’t deny that he had the same thoughts.

“I believe that since he’s so intricately connected to the nanites, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to believe that he is them,” the woman went on. “He might be a body that the nanites possessed- the rest of the scientists in the explosion died, you and Cesar escaped, yet he remained. The nanites that took over him might have programmed themselves with the opposite agenda of ZAG-RS. Instead of eliminating nanites, spread them across the globe.”

The teen propped his elbows on the table and rested his head on his chin, fully immersed in her words. He knew Van Kleiss barely acted human, but this was a whole new level. If what she was saying was true, they’d have to find a different way to shut him down. Perhaps a virus would work.

That is, if he ever got out of his waking nightmare.

“It would make sense since he’s a psychopath and all,” Rex admitted. “Machines don’t care about human life and all that. But are you sure about this?”

The doctor shrugged. “It’s… just something I came up with. I don’t know too much about it yet, and I’m still looking into the implications of it all. But I just feel that he might be a lot less real than either of us believed.”

The boy nodded again, then realized that something felt a little... familiar. She kept insinuating that his captor wasn’t real, and yet, his captor insisted the same about her. It was an echo of some sort. Whenever Van Kleiss probed into the matter deeper, apparently, so did his family at Base.

“Do you understand me, Rex?” Holiday asked, her tone suddenly a bit more sharp than usual. “Whatever he tells you, don’t listen. You’ve never believed a word he said in the first place, so this shouldn’t be too hard for you. You trust me, don’t you?”

Rex was taken aback by just how eerily similar the woman’s words were now. He lifted his head firm his palm, and gave her a weird look. He knew now that something about this seemed very...

Off.

“Yeah, no problem,” the boy replied. “I get you. Don’t listen to the crazies.”

And just like that, the good doctor vanished. 

Rex frowned, and rolled his eyes. He wasn’t nearly as alarmed at her disappearance as before, since he believed it was just his nanites messing around again. He stood up and stared at his empty plate, grateful for the food, at least. It was great after the puking session the night before. Walking out the dining hall, he meandered into a few harmless EVOs, and bumped right into a tall figure.

“I was wondering if you would ever wake up,” Van Kleiss said, gently pushing the boy off of him. “You must be unused to waking up at your own time. Though, I do insist you try to rise from your bed earlier than that.”

Rex narrowed his eyes at the man. 

Computer program.

“What was your life like before the Nanite Event?” the boy blurted out, stepping away. “Do you remember anything? Or are you hiding something from me?

The older man sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. “This again. I suppose I can’t really blame you if you’ve had another hallucination. What did it tell you?”

“Don’t answer my question with another question. Who. Are. You?”


	19. Chapter 19

Well... at least it wasn't a laboratory this time.

Rex let out a muffled groan as he sat on a chair in the library, realizing that it might have been best to keep his mouth shut. Van Kleiss had dragged him there after his barrage of questions earlier, hoping to find out what caused the strange outburst. To the two, the library seemed like a much more welcoming area than a cold lab table. The boy didn't even know the castle had one, but he felt warm and cozy there, however uncomfortable he felt in general.

But now it was time for yet another interrogation.

"Answer me honestly, Rex," the king began, sitting across the wooden table he'd led the teen to. "Have you ever taken any kinds of psychoactive substances? Believe it or not, they can cause hallucinations even after incidences you took them, and stress may aggravate that potential."

The teen rolled his eyes. "You think I'm high out of my mind, don't you?"

"That wasn't an answer."

Rex stared at the man for a moment, his frown wavering. He then sighed, and drummed his fingers on the table. What's done was done, and if the truth could help him figure out what was wrong with him, he might as well spit it out. There was no point living in a mirage, was there?

"Fine, okay, maybe I have," the teen admitted. "I knew a few kids who did, and if I did tech hacks for them, they didn't mind sharing. I didn't like them or anything though, since they were pretty trashy people. Just their weed and stuff. I didn't know about all the side effects."

"Did Providence know about this?"

"They knew about the kids, but they didn't know the rest. I think my nanites got rid of any traces of whatever I took fast, so they couldn't detect it. It was nothing that serious though. I didn't make it a habit. Just a one or two time thing."

Van Kleiss raised a brow. "How did you even manage to start? Who were these children? Why would they willingly give an EVO illegal substances? Untested, that is."

The boy took a moment to jog his memories, fiddling around with some pages in a nearby book. "They're just some dumb kids I met at a skating rink. They only liked me because of the way I could talk to machines so I could get them free stuff. Yeah, I had Noah and all- the blonde kid you met- but after I found out he was a spy, I went back to the other crowd for a little while. I told Noah I forgave him and all, but... that didn't mean it didn't still hurt. The kids told me they had stuff that took away the pain, and... they weren't wrong."

"It's amazing what the deceit of Providence and social ineptitude can do to a person," the older man remarked. "Nonetheless, you took them, and they might still be affecting you. You need to reduce your stress."

"As if. I'm living with you-"

Rex's sentence cut off as he yelped and bent over at a sudden shockwave of pain radiating through his head. He'd never felt anything like it. The sensation was intense in his skull, then ebbed away like ripples of water as it spread to the rest of his body. The boy gripped his head and squeezed, prompting a look of concern from his captor.

Then, as quickly as it arrived, the pain disappeared.

"I'm going to blame that on being around you," Rex groaned, sitting back up again. "Felt like you pierced me with your stupid needles. Ow."

"What happened?" Van Kleiss asked, removing the boy's hands and replacing them with his own. "Did you try to activate your nanites? You know that won't work."

The child opened his mouth to snidely retort, but was cut off by the sight of Noah standing right beside him. The blonde looked like a mess dressed in a wrinkly shirt and jeans, and oddly enough, looked downright peeved. His face was grim, and his fists were clenched. But most strangely of all, his eyes weren't an ocean blue.

They were pitch black.

"Why are you telling him all this!" Noah demanded to know, scowling at Rex. "Can't you follow directions? Don't trust him! That was your one job! Rex, don't you care about us anymore? Think of your family and friends!"

Rex quickly scooted back in his chair, bewildered by the sight of his angry friend- if it really was Noah. The blonde may have had his usual outfit and voice, but his eyes were... someone else's. Noah was much too mild mannered to yell at Rex the way he did now- at least, not without warning. The teen saw nothing but rage in his friend's expression, and felt his heart pound in fear.

"I-I am!" Rex stuttered, standing up and bracing for any sort of attack. "At least, I'm trying! I don't have much of a choice here! But why are you so mad at me if you know it's just a nanite dream?"

"Because he's dangerous! He's going to pull you away from us!"

Van Kleiss groaned at the sight of his captive talking to thin air again, and pulled the boy back in his seat. "Rex. Sit down. You're having a hallucination. There's no one-"

"Shut up!" Rex snapped at the man before turning to his enraged friend. "Noah! Get me out of my dream! It's not like I want to talk to-"

The boy's sentence was quickly cut off by a sharp slap to the side of his head, courtesy of the irritated king. The child rubbed his head in shock, falling completely silent. He stared at the older EVO as if he'd grown five heads, his eyes wide with surprise.

"That wouldn't be necessary if you followed directions," Van Kleiss informed him, narrowing his eyes. "You need to get a grip on reality. Look at me. Whoever you're arguing with isn't in the room at all."

Noah made a face, and snapped his fingers. Instantly, another shockwave is pain radiated through Rex's body, this time starting at his feet. The boy hissed and bent over, frantically rubbing them through his tattered shoes.

"I'm real, Rex," the blonde insisted, his stare cold and lacking any of the Noah's usual personality. "I may not be real in the sense that- no! I'm real! Listen to me! When has it ever been a good idea to trust Van Kleiss? Never!"

"Rex, pull yourself together and don't look at it."

"We're friends, Rex! Listen to me!"

Rex buried his face in his hands, unable to take the painful mental stimulation. "Stop! Both of you! I can't fucking tell who's actually talking to me!"

The boy appeared to be in so much distress that his captor allowed the swear to fly by. The man stood up, grabbed a nearby glass of water from a cooler he kept in the library, and threw its contents over Rex's head and exposed sections of his face. The teen let out a gasp at the sudden cold, and lifted his head to shake it off.

Noah was gone.

"Rex, if this doesn't stop, I'm going to have to put you on medications," the king said, sitting back down. "If seeing something imaginary causes this much pain, then-"

"No."

Van Kleiss raised a brow. "No, what?"

Rex rubbed the cool water into his face and shook his head. "He's not imaginary. He's real. But I don't think he's my friend, or anyone I know. I think he's... someone else."

"How do you know?"

"Look. Remember when I bent down because I felt those pains? All Noah had to do was snap his fingers, and I'd feel it again. He was furious, and said it was punishment. The real Noah would never do that to me. I don't think any of the people I've been seeing are my family. But there is definitely someone messing with my head right now."

"So, you're convinced that there is a living, breathing person doing these things to you?" the king probed. "How do you think they're capable of it if neither of us can even see them?"

"I don't think they're here with me," the teen answered. "I think they did something to my head, or are using nanites to communicate with me. But I don't-"

Van Kleiss watched in fascination as he heard Rex audibly choke back a sob. Nonetheless, he stayed quiet, unwilling to disturb the boy further.

"I don't know what I did to deserve this," the boy managed to continue, his voice clearing up as if nothing had happened. "I don't know any of my enemies who could do this, and I haven't angered anyone new. I don't know why I'm being targeted! And even worse, they were pretending to be my family just to hurt me even more! But I don't- okay, I'm going to shut up now."

"Why?"

"I'm just rambling. I don't have any proof of what I'm saying. For all I know, I'm just stressed and it was drugs like you said. I'm just really caught off guard. I don't think I can really sleep tonight."

Though Rex had doubts about most of his theory, he knew one thing was for certain. His hallucinations were far more real than he'd thought. After all, despite the fact that Noah insisted that Van Kleiss wasn't real, the blonde seemed to have heard every word the king said.

Somebody failed at lying.


	20. Chapter 20

The okra stalks were flourishing.

The boy worked in the garden, collecting various vegetables and fruits he knew would become his meals and desserts later. Truth be told, he was actually getting slightly accustomed to eating seventy percent vegetarian, and even felt himself become a bit more energetic from the nutrients. It was a far cry from fattening burgers and greasy fries, and though they would always have a special place in his heart, he realized that they couldn’t realistically be his main meals. He hated to admit it, but...

Vegetables were actually starting to taste alright.

But what Rex enjoyed far more than any edible greenery was his recent peace of mind. It had been nearly a week since any incidences with the violent type of hallucinations- if he could call them that anymore- and he loved the fact that they couldn’t quite affect him like they used to. The boy couldn’t quite figure out their motives, but strangely enough, they had become nicer. It was almost as if they’d resorted to switching tactics.

 

But for what?

Holiday had dressed up in clothes the boy couldn’t have even imagined her wearing, asking for more dinner dates and even walks outside alone. Bobo had offered to play pranks on other EVOs with him, and insisted he would bring all the materials and would take all the blame for anything that happened. Six suggested gentler training sessions with the teen, and even a trip to somewhere exotic and carefree. And Noah, as if the torture had never happened, wanted to play video games and brink junk food snacks.

But Rex knew better to trust them.

It was obvious what the good doctor was insinuating, and he wouldn’t go anywhere near that sort of behavior. His name was Rex Salazar, not Oedipus Rex, dammit. The real Bobo would never take blame for any mishaps, and was more of the type to partake in petty revenge on anyone who pinned the rap on him. Six was all about order and protocol, so a surprise vacation would be out of the question. Lastly, after what he’d seen Noah do, he wouldn’t even begin to consider the possibility of a gaming night. 

Of course, Rex had long grasped the underlying concept of it all. One by one, his “hallucinations” were trying to be the idealized versions of his family. They were willing to give into every whim and desire, as long as the boy refused to talk to the wretched king of Abysus. The teen kindly declined them all, each time coming up with excuses- sometimes even flat out ignoring them. Rex knew that though they may be the fun versions of his family in his mind, they were unrealistic and wouldn’t fare well in the real world. 

And so, he rejected them all as lies, and went on to do his work.

He decided that even if he wasn’t one hundred percent sure which was the true reality, he might as well visit someone that stood out from the gloomy landscape- a peppy young blonde with a penchant for bashing critters and studying the law. He’d been so busy with his tasks that he’d forgotten all about her- and even the graveyard in general. But he pretty much done with gathering plants in baskets, and all he had to do was deliver them back to Biowulf in the dining hall.

Despite his rough nature, the blue EVO could actually cook quite well.

Rex trudged through the halls with the baskets hanging from his arms, feeling like a rural farmer from a documentary. When he reached the dining room, he found the king, his furry companion, and Breach scattered around the room, sitting at different tables. It was a far cry from the unity he’d eaten in with his family back at Base, making him crack a sad smile. The EVOs wanted so much from the world, yet were missing out on more than they could imagine. 

Pathetic.

“Here, I got the stuff,” the teen said, placing the baskets on a nearby food counter. “Imma go find Carrie.”

“Rex, you mentioned her before.” the king said, not looking up from his laptop. It was as if the man never ate or slept. “Who is she?”

Rex tilted his head. “Um, the girl who works down in your graveyard. She said you’re paying her way through college or something.”

“I do nothing of the sort,” Van Kleiss insisted. “Nothing you’re saying makes sense, as usual.”

“Okay, so what do you know about her?”

“Rex. She doesn’t exist.”

Rex frowned, feeling a cold chill slither up his spine. If the man was implying that Carrie was yet another hallucination, it would make his situation all the more confusing. After all, his hallucinations were usually people he knew, and she wasn’t anyone he’d known before.

Was she?

“Okay, that’s... messed up,” the boy responded. “I never met Carrie before I got here, and she knows all about you and the garden. She told me she wanted to be a divorce lawyer, and that she cleans your graves- why you even have those graves, I still don’t understand- and that she used to maintain the Garden before I got here.”

The older EVO sighed and shook his head. “Listen to me. There is no type of EVO, or sentient human being in this castle that I am not aware of. If I didn’t know who travelled through my hallways, you would have been eaten by one the moment I left you alone on the bed you woke up in. There is no one here named Carrie.”

“She was really nice to me,” the boy informed him. “Plus, she didn’t seem to be your enemy. She was working for you!”

“And just what was she doing?”

Rex scoffed. “A ton of stuff. She cleaned up your graves, said she set the table for you when you come down to Peace to chill for a while, helped snip stuff in the Garden- I’ve said that already- and killed pests.”

Breach giggled from the distance. “She didn’t do that last part if you’re still here.”

The teen stuck his tongue out at her.

“What pests could she possibly be killing that I couldn’t take care of myself?” the king asked, drawing Rex’s attention back. “You forget that all EVOs are a food source for me. I can, and have been controlling the populations of the creatures I allow to stay.”

“I dunno what it was,” the boy admitted, shrugging. “It was some pink mole looking thing. Like a naked rat or something. It came out of the ground and it looked kinda cute.”

Van Kleiss looked up and stared at the boy, a peculiar look on his face. Rex frowned, and stared right back.

“What?” Rex asked, shifting his legs in discomfort. “Did I offend you or something? You look like you heard a gunshot.”

“Rex... describe the creature that you saw. Again. Do not leave out any details.”

“Well I told you it looked like a pink naked mole rat. I named it Taffy. It looked soft, and was really small. I could fit it in my palm if I wanted to. It crawled out of the dirt and looked at me. That’s… about it, really.”

“At any point, did it touch you?” Van Kleiss asked quickly, a sudden sharp edge in the man’s voice. “At all?”

“Um, yeah,” Rex answered. “It chewed on my shoe for a bit. It didn’t really hurt me or anything. It’s not like it attacked me.”

Van Kleiss continued staring at the boy, though it was clear that the king’s mind was somewhere else. Something Rex had said had sparked a tidal wave of thoughts inside the man’s head, though the boy wasn’t quite sure what it was. The look of contemplation was so intense that the teen wondered if an assault was heading his way. Even Breach and Biowulf felt that the man’s expression was unsettling, and they both shifted in their seats, waiting to see what would happen next.

“And you say this Carrie was down there with you?” their leader asked for further detail. “Did you see her before or after the pest made contact with you? This is very important, Rex. Try to remember.”

The boy scoffed. “How could I not? She came out of nowhere and whacked the thing when I was naming it after it nibbled on my foot. She creeped me out for a while after that, to be honest. Why?”

“You’ve just exposed a new possibility to me,” Van Kleiss said slowly, still sorting through the barrage thoughts pouring into his brain. “While I’m not going to discredit the possibility that you’re suffering from the after effects of psychoactive substances, my new theory also makes just as much sense- if not more.”

“What are you talking about?” Rex asked, thoroughly confused. “What theory?”

“Rex, if I’m not wrong, those hallucinations may be far more dangerous than either of us thought.”

“Pfft. How dangerous? I mean I don’t mess with them, but they’re pretty much kissing my ass right now. They’re pretending to be nice and stuff.”

The king folded his laptop, stood up, and glared at Rex. With how serious the situation was likely to be, the boy’s nonchalant and goofy attitude was completely inappropriate, irritating the man.

“Well,” Van Kleiss began, hoping to shut down any trace of unnecessary humor, “The last EVO who suffered similar symptoms as you died in less than two months.”

Aside from a surprised squeal, Rex had nothing else to say to that.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I’m back!

Rex, having once again been dragged to a lab, felt that fate’s tendency to surround him with white walls would never end. Sure, there had been plenty of breaks, but, they just weren’t enough. If there was anything he really wanted right now, it was some good quality time with Noah.

He slightly regretted passing up a video game night with his hallucination.

“You might as well staple my feet to the floor of one of these places if you keep bringing me back here,” the boy complained, reluctantly allowing himself to be pushed onto an examination table. His captor gave him a side eye glance that seemed quite suspicious to him.

“So you’re accepting the fact that you belong here?” the man asked, a slight edge of humor in his voice. “It was only a matter of time.”

“What? No!”

“You’ll come around.”

Rex crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes as Van Kleiss walked into storage closet opposite his side of the room, wondering what horrid contraption the king would pull out. A knock out spray? A nanite neutralizing gun? An Omega extractor? Maybe even a guillotine? Anything was possible with a madman who owned a castle in the middle of nowhere. 

Anything evil, that was.

Rex suddenly began to feel chills down his back as he watched the man disappear into the darkness of the closet. “H-hey! You’re not gonna... y’know... are you?”

“Kill you?” his captor’s voice responded from the closet. “Aren’t you over your paranoia yet?”

“That’s didn’t answer the question,” Rex shot back. “Don’t dance around it.”

The teen heard a few objects being pushed aside, some light crinkling, and the sound of something sloshing. Rex cocked a brow, confused as to what the man was up to this time. He supposed that Van Kleiss could have killed him earlier if he wanted to, but still, it wasn’t wise to let his guard down. The king was as unpredictable as he was dangerous.

“Funnily enough, Rex,” the man replied after a short while, “I don’t know the answer to your question either. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Rex felt as if his entire skeleton had turned to ice.

“Fuck this,” the boy whispered under his breath before hopping off the bed and attempting to escape the room. It was only a matter of time before his captor intended on slaughtering him, after all. Before he could reach the exit, however, a familiar golden gauntlet blocked his way like an aggressive python, pushing the young EVO backwards until he fell on the floor. Rex tried to slide under it but was quickly caught by his throat, rendering all of his movements futile.

“You’re not going to run away from this,” the king’s smooth voice informed him, unfazed. “Sit back on that bed or you’ll meet your end faster than you thought.”

Rex tried to pry the needle fingers off of his neck, but his fleshy fingers were no match for the strong grip of metal. He shivered as he stood up and reluctantly sat back down on the bed, hoping that if he was to die, it would at least be peaceful. He knew the man didn’t actually say he was going to die, but he might as well have- the teen could already see visions of his gravestone in his mind.

A horrid end to a unique life.

Van Kleiss walked back into the lab, carrying a large pitcher full of a reddish liquid. It swirled around and slid up against the glass container as he set it down on a small table he’d taken from the lab closet as well, setting both in front of Rex. The boy stared at the liquid fearfully, wondering if it was his last drink in a twisted sort of way. The king caught the expression on the boy’s face and shook his head, amused.

“You need to take a moment to breathe,” the man said, picking up a plastic cup from a nearby counter and placing it next to the pitcher. “Pull yourself together. If I’m correct in my hypothesis, you’ll be perfectly fine.”

“I will?”

“Yes. At least... for now.”

Rex glanced up at the man, not even caring if true fear was written all over his features, then right back at the pitcher. “What do you want me to do with that?”

“What do you think? You’re going to drink it.”

Rex grimaced and began pouring himself his first cup, careful not to let his shaking fingers spill any of it. The rose colored liquid began to fill up the cup, spreading a familiar scent into the air that the boy hadn’t noticed before. It was only when he took his first sip that he realized what exactly he’d recognized in.

“It tastes like... sugar,” the boy noted, astonished. “Fruity sugary, actually. Is this punch?”

“Is it suitable to your tastes?” Van Kleiss asked, tapping his fingers on the table. “Hopefully it is, because you’re going to drink the entire thing.”

Rex made a face at the man, many unanswered questions buzzing around in his mind. All of them led back to why the king was giving him a boatload of sugar if he was supposedly against unhealthy eating, and why the juice was given to him in the first place.

Unless...

Rex placed the cup back on the table and quickly retracted his hand away. “That’s not just punch, is it? There’s something else in there. Sugar isn’t the only thing I’m tasting.”

His captor tilted his head, though still unfazed. “What else are you tasting?”

“It’s... actually, I don’t know. It’s kind of bitter, but you drowned it out with the sugar. Or at least, you tried to. On purpose!”

“You’re right, the excessive sweetness was completely intentional. It’s not just sugar and water in there. However, I’ll tell you what else is in there after you finish it.”

Rex sighed and took a few moments of hesitation before continuing to drink the tainted punch. Normally he would have run far away and never looked back, but it’s not as if he had a choice this time. One by one, he downed the cups of juice, feeling the sweet liquid slide down his throat, which left an oppositional aftertaste of bitterness after each sip. 

The more he drank, the more temporary relief he sought from the bitterness, until it came back to coat his throat again. The only way he was even able to drink the entire thing was due to his withdrawal from sugar from the past few days coming to launch itself at him again. 

By the time Rex was done, he felt like he’d swallowed an entire ocean.

“I know you might feel as if you’re going to vomit it out,” the king began, clasping cuffs with large chains around the boy’s hands and feet, “But you need to let it settle in. Every single ingredient needs to do its job.”

Rex groaned and laid back, then suddenly noticed the chains around him. “HEY!”

“Those are so you don’t escape,” Van Kleiss informed the teen nonchalantly. “This experiment needs time to run. Just sit put. You can sleep to pass the time.”

“Am I going to wake up in the middle of being dissected?”

“Rex. With words like that, you’re only scaring yourself. Don’t blame me if you have nightmares.”

Rex blinked, then frowned as he reclined and closed his eyes. Time slipped away as he fell into a deep sleep, rest and relaxation overcoming his body and shrouding him in a blanket of peace. He felt all his worries slip away as darkness overtook him- all the paranoia, fears, doubts, and misery washed away like plastic litter in the ocean.

Then, the visions began.

Rex began to see splashes of bright colors in place of where his dreams were supposed to appear. Soon, the blackness of his subconscious was being lit up by explosions of wayward colors that struck with the intensity of lightning, creating a storm in his mind. An occasional ghostly sight of a family member flashed and disappeared as the bright splashes continued to burst in his mind like fireworks. Soon, his whole subconscious space was transformed into a colorful canvas of hues of every color imaginable.

Soon, the chaos began.

It started with the sound of an unearthly screaming in the back of his mind that grew louder and louder, which was then accompanied by muffled angry rantings. The teen heard his name being called out in a scolding manner- though, he couldn’t recognize the voice at all- and then a roaring that drowned out the screams. Even though he was deep in the stages of sleep, he began to feel a strange tingling deep inside his head, as if someone was running pointy claws along the edges of his brain. The tingling soon transformed into an intense itch, and then brutal scratches. 

It was nothing like a nanite induced dream at all.


	22. Chapter 22

Rex woke with a jolt, finding his surroundings unchanged. The dreams- if he could even call them that- were some of the strangest things he’d experienced in his life. That was saying something, considering the kind of life he’d lived pounding down bizarre EVOs. The colors, screams, and scratches had eventually become too much, thrusting himself out of his own subconscious and back into the real world.

It was almost as if he’d visited a different dimension.

The boy sighed and rubbed his neck, sitting up to stretch. He was still restrained to the bed, but the chains were loose enough to guarantee satisfactory movement. Glancing at his side, he found that the small table was devoid of any pitcher of juice, as well as the cup that had accompanied it. Instead, they had been replaced by a lone buzzer plugged into a nearby socket, no doubt used as a calling system.

Rex debated whether he should attempt an escape, but after remembering the needle-like fingers threatening to pierce his jugular, he decided against it and pressed the buzzer.

“Rex, I’m already here.”

The teen whipped around to find Van Kleiss on the opposite side of the room, the man’s tall figure peeking through some lab equipment. It seemed like heavy duty machinery, and even held a few racks full of strangely colored test tubes. The boy lightly smacked himself on the face, wondering why he hadn’t used the common sense to look around the room first.

He blamed it on mental disorientation.

“You creep,” Rex muttered, digging his fingers into the sheets. “You did that on purpose. What are you even doing?”

“Your inability to use your eyes is not my fault, and as for your question, you’ll find out soon enough. How do you feel?”

The young EVO frowned, and glanced down at his body. Checking to see if nothing had been damaged in his sleep, he wiggled each of his limbs and went so far as to do a mini sit-up on the bed. Satisfied that nothing was broken or torn, he turned back to his captor.

“I feel just fine,” Rex replied. “If you tried to kill me with that juice, you failed. I’m completely alive.”

Van Kleiss seemed unfazed. “Indeed, you are. As I had predicted. I suppose your question about whether you would live or die from the drink has finally been answered.”

“Yeah,” Rex responded, recalling his earlier panic, “But what was even in there? You have to tell me now. I followed your stupid commands.”

“Are you familiar with mercury, lead, arsenic, and DDT?”

The boy raised a brow, wondering what that had to do with anything. “I do know what they are, but I’m not the best at chemistry. And no, you don’t get to call me ignorant because of it.”

“Ignorance is the appropriate label, but in this case, probably not the negatively willful kind,” the king began, hoping to quell hostility. “The point is, these substances I’ve mentioned are detrimental to human health in lethal amounts. Particularly in regards to the brain. They’re deadly neurotoxins.”

Rex tilted his head, a dark sense of fear slowly creeping into his nerves. “Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. But how does that relate to anything?”

“It matters because I added an incredibly lethal amount of at least twelve of those particular type of toxins, including the ones I’ve mentioned, to your drink. Far too much for your nanites to bear.”

Rex immediately jumped off of the bed, straining against the chains to land hundreds of forceful punches on the older man’s frame. Try as he might, he couldn’t escape the metal, but his rage drove him on to keep at it. 

“YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!” the teen shouted at the eerily calm man. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? I’VE DONE EVERYTHING YOU’VE WANTED! YOU CAN'T JUST THROW ME AWAY!”

Van Kleiss merely sighed, and continued setting up the equipment at hand. “Calm down. I wasn’t intending on killing you. I only wished to see what would happen.”

“YOU FORCED ME TO DRINK A SHIT TON OF POISON!” Rex screamed, his face turning red. “WHY ARE YOU STILL PRETENDING YOU WEREN’T TRYING TO MURDER ME? IT’S SO FUCKING OBVIOUS!”

“If I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t be alive to lose your temper right now.”

The boy halted his rant and stared at the man, the new statement forcing him to reconsider his stance on the matter. But at the same time, he wasn’t sure if the king was just manipulating his mind into a false sense of security. All he could rely on was the one true fact that he could trust.

He wasn’t dead.

Yet.

“If you sit down and compose yourself, I’ll explain why I’ve done this,” Van Kleiss offered, hoping the child would take a moment to relax. “I promise.”

Despite doubting the man’s so called “promise”, Rex did as he was told, sitting back onto the bed he’d hastily left. The king smirked at the instant compliance, glad to have left an impact on the boy’s psyche, and began setting up vials in their proper racks.

“Good, it seems you can understand me,” the teen’s captor remarked. “Now, remain in that position. First, the drink was laced with deadly toxins for a reason. According my my hypothesis on what’s been affecting your mind, you would feel very few effects. One of them being the fact that you slept for seventeen hours straight.”

Rex’s eyes widened, but after summoning some more self restraint, he said nothing.

“I assume you had strange dreams, yes?” the king asked, allowing the boy to talk. “They weren’t technically dreams, since according to my theory, you aren’t physically capable of having them anymore.”

A chill ran down Rex’s spine. “I did. They were a bunch of colors, and someone was even yelling at me and stuff. But what do you mean I can’t dream anymore? What did you do to me?”

“It’s nothing I did, I assure you. But it was interesting to know my theory was right.”

“And if it was wrong?”

“You would have never woken up.”

Though Rex remained on the bed, familiar surges of anger began to rise inside him. “So you were willing to kill me just to find out if you guessed right? You’re fucked up.”

“I know that seemed cruel,” Van Kleiss admitted, “But it was for the best. Either way, you failed the test.”

The boy cocked a brow. “Wait... what? But I’m alive! That should count as passing!”

“It’s a different sort of test. You lived, therefore you failed. But if you died, in a way, you would have also failed.”

“So, let me get this straight,” the teen began. “If I failed, I failed. And if I passed, I failed. And in both cases, you’re perfectly fine?”

“It is an unusual situation, but yes, that’s correct. Tell me, Rex. What was your theory about your terror from earlier?”

The question threw the younger EVO off guard, and he struggled to recall what his captor meant. “You mean when Noah attacked me?”

“Your most recent hallucination is what I’m referring to, yes.”

“I said that... that it wasn’t really a hallucination, but was caused by something real. That someone alive was messing with my head. I don’t know who it was, though. It’s just a dumb guess.”

“In a way, you were right,” the king revealed, finally plugging wires from the nearby equipment into several sockets. “But what you guessed wrong was your notion about it being a living, breathing person. It’s not a human who’s tampering with your mind.”

“So, what is it then?”

“A virus.”


	23. Chapter 23

Rex let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, is that all? My nanites get rid of germs and stuff. I thought it was something serious.”

Van Kleiss frowned. “This isn’t one your body can be rid of so easily, Rex. It’s quite dangerous. You should be sure frightened instead of amused.”

“Enlighten me, then,” the boy demanded. “How is a virus making me hallucinate family and people I don’t know? Why does it make my hallucinations make a lot of sense? It sounds more like a computer program or something, to be honest.”

“What do you know about rabies?”

The teen wrinkled his nose in confusion. “Um. It makes people sick? I’m more of a math and machines guy, if you know what I mean. Not really into biology.”

“It’s a shame your ridiculous organization didn’t bother to educate you,” the king remarked. “Rex, rabies is a deadly virus. Once you start experiencing symptoms, it’s extremely likely you’ll die. There’s often no hope for anyone who catches it.”

“How likely are we talking?”

“There’s much, much less than even one percent chance of survival. Once symptoms appear, your life is done. There’s hardly anything that one can do about it. It’s a silent killer.”

Rex gulped, his head suddenly becoming clouded with fear. “Are you saying... I have rabies? That I’m going to die? How did I get it?”

His captor shook his head. “I’ll explain the former later. But first, I want to see if you recognize this animal.”

The king walked to the giant screen on the other side of the room and opened a link on it, causing an image of a small, pink animal to pop up. It looked remarkably like Taffy, bubblegum body and all. It seemed adorable for a tiny EVO, and Rex wished the poor guy had lived just a little longer.

“Yeah, I saw one of those in your freaky graveyard,” the teen recalled. “But that’s not a virus. I think you’re going a little nuts here.”

“No, it’s not a virus,” Van Kleiss echoed, bringing up more pictures of the pink creature. “Let me tell you why you weren’t ever supposed to enter Peace. These small creatures live in the dirt, and they have a tendency to bite. They live underground by the hundreds, and most of their brains are already infected with the virus. If they make contact with your skin and break it, they transfer the virus to their new host. In this case, it was you.”

Rex scoffed. Well then why do you go down there?”

“My body is different. I regenerate easily. For example, if you chopped off my limbs or such, they grow back soon. If any virus tries to infect me, my body easily destroys them without a second thought since I am able to manipulate my form at a moment’s notice. I suppose it’s one of the benefits of being moderately unstable.”

“So... what does this virus do?” the younger EVO asked, fear beginning to cause his heart to pound. He still had hope he’d survive, but didn’t know if it was a possible reality or just a fantasy. 

“It targets your nervous system,” the king explained. “It latches onto your nerves, travels up your spinal cord, and enters your brain. Soon, it begins devouring it, causing the infected individual to slowly lose control and live a slow, painful death. Remember the juice I tested on you?”

Rex winced. “Y-yeah?”

“It was made of a collection of neurotoxins as I told you, and they were meant to destroy your brain. However, the virus in your brain protected your nervous system from them, keeping you alive and intact.”

“Wait, you just said the virus was gonna kill me!” the boy pointed out. “How come it’s protecting me? Are you lying about something?”

“It’s protecting your brain from the toxins so you’re more suitable for consumption,” Van Kleiss informed him. “You wouldn’t want to eat spoiled food, would you? It’s the same concept.”

Familiar nausea crawled up the child’s throat. “So... I’m going to die of rabies now?”

His captor sighed. “Well you see, you don’t technically have rabies. It’s the same virus in origin, yes, but it’s been mutated by nanites. An EVO virus, if you will. It does the same job, but as a result of its altered form, it’s different in certain aspects.”

“How?”

“Your hallucinations, for instance. This EVO virus has a tendency to try to distract its host from any sign of infection by pleasing its victim. You want to see your supposed “family” that was killed in the blast, Rex. It’s obvious that you miss them. The virus burrowed itself into your brain, found who you value, and made it appear as if they’re in front of you.”

“Are you sure about that?” the teen questioned him, doubts forming in his mind. “They talked like normal, and looked normal too. I even felt them when I bumped into them! And heard them! Something’s not adding up.”

“You don’t seem to recall that your nervous system controls all the others, and especially your senses. You never saw or felt anything. The virus simply manipulated your nerve signals against you. And furthermore, if anyone’s words aren’t entirely the truth, they would be yours. Are you sure your “family” acted completely normally?”

Rex paused. 

It was true that his family looked and sounded like they usually did, but he had to admit that there were things that eventually became off about them. Strange characteristics embodied them, making them seem just like how Rex wished they were. Rex wished Holiday would be more open to the way he hit on her. He wished Six expressed himself more. And he even wished the Bobo wasn’t as destructively crazy as often as he was.

That would mean that the virus was trying to make him happy, just as his captor had said. Still, another unanswered question lingered in his mind. It might even throw off the virus theory entirely.

“Okay, some of that makes sense, even if you are a psychopathic liar,” the teen replied. “But what about Carrie? I don’t know any Carrie, so I couldn’t have a perfect version of her in my mind.”

Van Kleiss thought for a moment, and after a short while, opened his mouth to speak. “Was she your first hallucination, or one that came later on?”

“First.”

“Ah, that stands to reason,” the king noted. “When the virus first burrows into its host’s memories, it has a hard time distinguishing certain memories, as well as what its victim values. It mixes things up.”

“What are you talking about?”

“It might be a stretch, but the name “Carrie” seems like a muddled version of Circe.”

Rex’s face went beet red. The king shook his head and grinned.

“You must have some strong feelings for-“

“NO! Shut up! I do not! And second of all, Carrie was blonde! Circe’s not!”

“Do you know any blondes in your personal life?”

Rex racked his head for any he’d met, and instantly thought of Annie. A nervous frown crept onto his face as he realized that the virus practically mixed the two girls together in his mind, creating a strange hybrid. An odd phenomenon, really.

That is, if Van Kleiss was telling the truth.

“We’ll get to that later,” Rex muttered, unwilling to entertain his captor. “So, if I’m infected, what do I do? Can’t someone help me?”

“With this machine I’ve been putting together, I will be,” the king informed him. “All I have to do is force you into temporary stasis while I send out chemicals to eradicate the virus. Since it’s an EVO, though it still manages to kill savagely, it’s actually more curable than the original rabies virus. Which is why this is entirely possible.”

Rex was about to respond, but in an instant, the entire world blacked out.


	24. Chapter 24

Rex jolted at the sudden darkness that surrounded him, likening it to the void of his previous dream- or whatever it was, considering the fact that his captor denied the possibility of dreams anymore. Amidst the nothingness, a faint red glow emanated from a strange crystal that suspended itself in mid air, lighting up the strange looking object.

At least, he thought it floated. There was no floor to judge position.

“So,” a deep, yet vaguely robotic sound murmured, “You’ve found me out. Congratulations, Rex.”

The boy’s jaw dropped. “Are- are you what’s in my head? The virus?”

The crystal glowed slightly brighter. “I’m a friend, Rex. You know Van Kleiss isn’t the one to trust. I am.”

“You’ve been telling me that over and over again through the hallucinations,” the teen pointed out. “In my opinion, you’re both fucked up. You’re both trying to kill me!”

The crystal began to circle around the boy, the only source of light in the darkness. “Think about what he’s done to you. The vicious plans, the unethical testing, all of it. See the light, Rex. I am the light.”

Rex scoffed. “He only wants me for my nanites, and you only want me to eat my brain. Cut the crap. Don’t pretend you’re my savior.”

“But I could be.”

The boy stared at the blood red crystal, utterly confused. “What are you talking about?”

The virus began to float closer, and suddenly switched to a deep shade of blue. 

“Your life is pathetic,” it began, its voice now even deeper. “You’re stuck here with your powers removed, your worst enemy is in charge of you, you’re threatened by his cohorts, your diet is unsatisfactory, and you’re forced into constant life or death situations. You could have easily died from drinking the juice if I wasn’t here- juice that greatly tampered with my progress, might I add.”

“What are you trying to do, piss me off?” the teen asked, anger lacing his voice. “I know all of this, okay? I’ve lived through it. There’s no point in telling me this shit.”

“But what if I told you I’m your release?” the virus continued, its crystal form transitioning to a bright shade of yellow. “I can end all your pain and suffering. I could end all your rage. And most importantly, your loneliness.”

“What? How?”

“I could show you your family, and surround you with them. You’d spend time with who you love, and if I work well enough, you could even be given back whatever setting you prefer. Providence, your grandmother’s home, I can do it all. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? You’d never have to deal with the tyrant again.”

Rex narrowed his eyes. “Squid pro quote.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s something Van Kleiss once said to me when he suspiciously offered me exactly what I wanted. You’re not telling me about my end of the deal.”

The crystal paused for a moment, spun itself around a few times, then switched to green.

“Quid pro quo is what he said,” the virus informed him, continuing at its previous pace. “I had to dig through more of your memories for that. Luckily, I’m very well rooted in them.”

“I don’t speak gibberish, okay? Just tell me what the catch is.”

“You may live the rest of your life with everything you could ever ask for, but in return, you’d have to willingly relinquish your entire nervous system to me.”

“And what are you going to do with it?” Rex asked. What’s gonna happen to me?”

“I’m going to devour it. You’ll die.”

The teen was stunned silent for a few minutes, smacking himself mentally for not realizing it sooner. Of course his only source of “kindness” was yet another person out to kill him. He’d made so many enemies in the world by now, he might as well not trust anyone anymore.

“First off, why are you asking me for permission?” the boy asked, pointing at himself. “I don’t think you even need it. If you wanna kill me, why not just do it now?”

If viruses could sigh, Rex’s just did.

“I can’t keep you in this darkness for the two of us to chat in peace for long,” the crystal explained. “I’m still weak. In intelligent and developed creatures, it takes me longer to invade. Your kidnapper has already set up a contraption to help remove me from you. Once you wake up, you could easily allow him to use it. I’m asking you not to let him do this to me.”

The virus floated closer. “I don’t want to die, Rex.”

“Yeah, well, neither do I.” the boy shot back, pushing the crystal away with his hands. As soon as he touched it, it began to glow a bright orange. “I have no reason to let you murder me.”

“It’s not a wise choice, Rex,” the virus pointed out. “He’s only going to make you live the rest of your live in misery. I can make you live in satisfaction and love. I can give you anything you want. Why lose that chance?”

“Because none of it’s real.”

The crystal scoffed. “Of course it isn’t real, Rex. We both know your family died in the explosion. We both know Van Kleiss has control over you. All of this isn’t meant to be real. It’s meant to please. Would you rather live a harsh, cruel reality, or a joyous fantasy world?”

Now that was something Rex had to reconsider.

It was true that none of his loved ones were alive anymore, but at the same time, the emotions he felt when seeing them certainly were. He felt true happiness in talking to them, and knew he would feel most comfortable back in familiar settings. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go back to Van Kleiss’s agonizing treatment when he had a much more enticing option available.

“If I die while living in my perfect world, will I feel anything?” the boy asked. “Like, a sting, burn, or a shit ton of pain?”

The virus glowed purple. “Not at all, Rex. I control every nerve ending in your body, and I’ll be sure to deactivate any pain receptor whatsoever. You’ll only fade away in peace, and your last moments will consist of everything you know fading quietly into nothingness. It’s won’t hurt in the least.”

Rex then immersed himself into his private thoughts again, debating with himself if it was worth it. One one hand, he could die painlessly- something he’d considered quite unlikely, due to the nature of his life- but on the other hand, if he accepted the offer, there was certainly no turning back. He’d never find out more about his family, find out what caused the explosion, escape Abysus, or worst of all, defeat Van Kleiss.

“You’re still thinking about him, I see.”

The teen snapped out of his train of thought. “You’re mind reading?”

“You forget that I’m inside your brain,” the virus remarked. “I can’t mind read, but I can catch tiny bits and pieces of what you might be thinking about. And it seems that you’re wondering about how Van Kleiss fits into all of this.”

Rex cocked a brow. “That’s creepy as fuck, dude. And yeah, I am. He’s part of this whole ultimatum thing.”

The crystal paused for a moment, then let out a sharp buzz. 

“Let me... tell you something, Rex,” the virus began. “I despise the man as much as you do. He stand in my way, as well as yours. But if you willingly give yourself up to me, you’ll only find happiness that he cannot tamper with, and I’ll have the meal I crave. I may seem like a parasite, but in a way, it’s a symbiotic relationship. And he won’t be able to do anything about it.”

“He has the machine.”

“The machine, though powerful, cannot stop me once I am far too deep inside your nervous tissue to remove. All you have to do is buy time for that to happen.”

Rex winced. “Is there a third option?”

“Actually... yes. We could kill Van Kleiss.”


	25. Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter. However, I did post a sequel.

Rex balked. “Kill Van Kleiss? He told me it was impossible! I knew he was a liar!”

“Well, no, he’s not lying,” the virus admitted, shooting Rex’s hopes down. “I am currently unable to do away with him. He told the truth, I’m afraid.”

“Well then why tell me you could?”

“It’s not so simple. Our enemy is resistant, yes, but that is due to the nature of his structure, as well as his nanites. However, there is a way to get around that. And I’ll need your help for it.”

“I’m definitely going to help if it means finishing him off,” the boy informed him. “Just tell me the details!”

“Here’s how it works,” the virus began. “Your nanites, from what I’ve learned from your memories, are unique like his. They have the ability to change EVO structures, or at least render them useless. You can talk to them.”

The teen nodded. “Yeah, duh. I already know.”

“My current structure, unfortunately, is too underdeveloped to take over his body and devour his nervous system. However, if you can use your nanite abilities on me and help me gain new abilities, I’ll evolve into a strong enough form to kill him for you. For us.”

“Whoa, back up a minute,” Rex demanded. “I cure EVOs. I don’t make them. That’s what Van Kleiss does. You’re asking me to enhance you.”

The virus switched to a lavender hue. “Surely you can try? I’ve seen what you can do, Rex. You discover new abilities often, and I believe you have potential for much more. And in the end, you’ll win. It’s your life versus his.”

“I don’t... know.”

“If you submit to me, I can reveal the memories that your brain has buried in your amnesia for years. You’ll die knowing your entire life, and you’ll have to answer to no one for it. You’ll especially learn about your parents.”

The young EVO paused. It was true that he discovered new abilities, and it might just be possible for him to increase an EVO’s natural abilities. The bright side of his enemy’s death also served as an incentive to agree with his parasite, making him relish in the sudden feeling of power. He had the power to kill the man off once and for all. 

“Okay,” the teen agreed. “If I help you, you’ll go to him and kill him. But-“

His eyes snapped wide awake, nearly blinded by the bright lights.

“Hey!” he yelled, finding himself lying on his back. “What-“

“You passed out in the blink of an eye,” Van Kleiss informed him, standing above his figure. “You even nearly broke your skull on the bed rails. Luckily, I pushed your head aside before that happened.”

Rex shot up into a sitting position and pushed the man away. “Get away from me. I’m fine! Don’t touch me.”

The man raised a brow, but nonetheless, took a step back. “There’s nothing normal about falling unconscious like that, but I doubt you care. At least you’re awake... for now.”

“What would happen if the virus infected you?”

Van Kleiss stared blankly at the teenager, caught off guard by the sudden question. The boy looked so intent on receiving an answer, it almost seemed as if he was reading off a script. But of course, that was highly unlikely. Hormones were the stranger truth.

“Rex, I’ve already told you that it can’t harm me,” the man explained. “You know that.”

“Yeah, but what if it somehow changed enough to kill you too?” the younger EVO asked. “It’s possible, you know.”

“What are you on about?”

The teen smirked. “If I use my nanites to manipulate the virus, I can make it so it can murder you. Admit it! I have the upper hand! I know you feel threatened.”

“The entire world should feel threatened.”

The words forced optimism to jolt right out of the child’s attitude, sending a chilling tingle down his spine. At the same time, it was aggravating how he hadn’t managed to at least scare his enemy in the least. Not even a flinch.

“What... do you mean?” Rex questioned him, feeling unsettling vibes from their conversation. “I’m talking about you.”

“Perhaps you’re unaware of my role in Abysus,” the king began. “I am the leader, yes, but I am also the controller. I set the status quo for all EVO life here you using my unique abilities. This place depends on me. You should know that, considering the fact that your “family” nearly suffocated to death in escapee nanites before you resurrected me.”

Rex frowned at the memory. “I hated that.”

“I’m aware. The point is, you were supposed to learn that Abysus’s stability depends on me. The concept similarly applies to the virus. If it somehow evolves enough to kill me, it will have the advanced capabilities to kill anyone on this entire planet.”

“But that doesn’t make sense,” the boy pointed out. “I cured you after I brought you back! Abysus doesn’t need you anymore!”

The man scoffed. “Nothing is absolute if I have to say anything about it. After I gained my new ability to create and manipulate EVOs, I injected most- if not all- of my advanced nanites into the creatures of this land, and they remain under my control. Even the plants, to some degree. I essentially manipulated my current abilities into imitating my old abilities. For now, it’s sufficient.”

“Ugh,” Rex muttered, feeling his heart sink into the pits of his intestines. “You think of... everything.”

“Of course I do. Watch your mouth. But as for the original matter, it wouldn’t have even mattered if I didn’t make up for what you stole from me. The virus is deadly regardless.”

Rex groaned, burying his head in his hands. The virus had lied to him. Never intending to spare him, it had attempted to manipulate him into thinking it would be safe. It was just his luck to think he’d made a semblance of a friend, only to realize that it was yet another enemy in disguise.

Sounded awfully familiar.

“I wanna get cured, then,” the child muttered. “Hurry up with it. I don’t wanna die.”

The king grinned. “My, you sound upset that you couldn’t carry out your plans.”

“Shut up. I tried, at least.”

“I’m glad your inability to be subtle exposed you, Rex. You could have single handedly caused the largest mass extinction on Earth. The Salazar brothers have a penchant for causing global events, don’t they?”

Rex lifted his head out of his palms in an instant, eyes wide open. As unnerving as the similarity was, the man was technically correct. He could have killed everyone in an attempt to kill only one person. And worse, he was unknowingly imitating his brother.

Van Kleiss brought the machine he’d put together to the boy’s bedside, then made him lie down. He then placed an attached mask over the child’s face and tied it around his head. Then, he stuck various probes all over Rex’s body, maximizing the amount of damage to the virus. Rex felt a sense of dread from his fate, hoping it wasn’t too late to be saved. He also hoped this wasn’t the king’s elaborate plan to murder him and bury him in Peace.

“Hey,” the teen’s muffled voice spoke from under the mask, “Promise me you’re not going to kill me right now.”

His enemy rolled his eyes, attaching more probes and activating settings on the machine. “How many times must I tell you that I don’t intend to? Virus or not, there’s clearly something else wrong with your mind.”

But Rex wasn’t satisfied. “Please. Just promise me. I’m... scared.”

One look at the child was all it took to convince Van Kleiss that he was telling the truth. The teen was clearly distressed, and judging by the amount of mental anguish he’d gone through, it wasn’t surprising.

“Fine,” the king sighed, preparing to turn the mask on to expose the boy to knockout gas. “I promise I’m not killing you, for the hundredth time. Anything else? You won’t be waking up for at least two days.”

“Am I going to be okay?”

“Yes. Now, breathe.”

Van Kleiss flipped the switch.


End file.
